Program Models

The goal of this paper is to provide policymakers with recommendations for the design and implementation of strong principal development and evaluation systems. States and local school systems that pursue these ideas can use principal evaluation to drive a powerful vision of principal effectiveness and, by consequence, improve outcomes for all students.

Overview New Leaders has recently published a new principal evaluation model. It includes seven modules: (1) Overview of the New Leaders Principal Evaluation Model, (2) The Principal Evaluation Rubric, (3) Setting a Principal Practice Goal + Strategic Planning, (4) Identifying Evidence, (5) Direct Observation of Principal Practice, (6) Collecting and Mapping Evidence to the Principal Practice Rubric, and (7) Providing Actionable Feedback.

Overview New Leaders has recently published a new principal evaluation model. It includes seven modules: (1) Overview of the New Leaders Principal Evaluation Model, (2) The Principal Evaluation Rubric, (3) Setting a Principal Practice Goal + Strategic Planning, (4) Identifying Evidence, (5) Direct Observation of Principal Practice, (6) Collecting and Mapping Evidence to the Principal Practice Rubric, and (7) Providing Actionable Feedback.

A case study in program development and refinement is presented. We describe the
Teaching-Family model and its history, the original research goal of developing a community-
based program that was more humane, more effective in teaching communityliving skills,
and less expensive than the traditional large state institutions prevalent when we began. 

This paper examines a number of promising principal preparation programs to identify lessons for improving the impact of principals on student perrmance.

This review of the research on secondary reading programs focuses on 69 studies that used random assignment (n=62) or high-quality quasi-experiments (n=7) to evaluate outcomes of 51 programs on widely accepted measures of reading.The study found programs using one-to-one and small-group tutoring (+0.14 to +0.28 effect size), cooperative learning (+0.10 effect size), whole-school approaches including organizational reforms such as teacher teams (+0.06 effect size), and writing-focused approaches (+0.13 effect size) showed positive outcomes. Individual approaches in a few other categories also showed positive impacts. The findings are important suggesting interventions for secondary readers to improve struggling student’s chances of experiencing greater success in high school and better opportunities after graduation.

An ecological model for school-based mental health services that targets urban low-income aggressive children—a highly vulnerable and underserved population—is presented.

This study evaluated institutional sustainability of the Early Risers “Skills for Success” conduct problems prevention program.

This study used within-program comparison of follow-up survey responses from two sets of program graduates from a university-based leadership preparation program to determine differences in program features and outcome measures.

The advantages and challenges associated with these designs for use in special education eligibility decisions are discussed as models for child evaluation in schools.

The modified Research, Development, and Diffusion (RD&D) model, as exemplified by change agents in federal organizations, was examined as a viable strategy for disseminating social program innovations. This study of seven nationally disseminated education and criminal justice projects was designed to refine the methodology for
measuring innovation implementation.

Over the past 10 years, the Southern Regional Education Board has helped states and public universities across the region evaluate their state policies for preparing school principals who are leaders of instruction. This benchmark report reviews the past decade and looks at 10 learning-centered leadership indicators to gauge how far states have come and how far they need to go in selecting, preparing and supporting leaders of change.

Students (N = 4,466) attending 56 schools in New York State were involved in a 3-year study testing the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral approach to substance abuse prevention.

This article describes an evaluation of a prisoner-run delinquency prevention program at Hawaii's major prison.

This study examined principal preparation programs within the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education to ascertain whether their programs were structured in a way that would equip principal candidates with the leadership roles deemed essential for 21st century school leadership.

Explores existing models of the school as a health care service delivery setting and considers the implications of these models for the practice of psychology in schools. 

Teacher teams are increasingly common in urban schools. In this study, we analyze teachers’ responses to teams in six high-poverty schools. Teachers used two criteria to assess teams’ goodness of fit in meeting the demands of their work: whether their teams helped them teach better and whether the team contributed to a better school.

In the past, the accreditation process put a premium on compliance and included some reporting requirements that did not necessarily lead programs toward excellence or increase teacher candidates' impact on schools and learning. The accreditation process enabled institutions to think they were "done" once they earned accredited status, and did not do enough to encourage programs to tackle complex challenges confronting P-12 schools.

Estimates yielded by the cost study were based on “standard values” of resources so that cost estimates could be generalized, rather than merely reflect the unique circumstances of each site. We expected program cost to vary somewhat depending on the target population—paraprofessional, uncertified teacher, and RPCVs—because programs serving different populations differ somewhat in structure, design, length, and services offered. We also expected cost to vary depending on whether a site was affiliated with a public or a private higher education institution.

In this article, we summarize and review the research on teams and groups in organization settings published from January 1990 to April 1996. The article focuses on studies in which the dependent variables are concerned with various dimensions of effectiveness. A heuristic framework illustrating recent trends in the literature depicts team effectiveness as a function of task, group, and organization design factors, environmental factors, internal processes, external processes, and group psychosocial traits.

Applied Behavior Analysis provides a complete description of the principles and procedures needed to systematically change socially significant behavior and to understand the reasons for that change. This comprehensive text, appropriate for courses in basic principles, applications, and behavioral research methods, helps students, educators, and practitioners appreciate and begin to acquire the conceptual and technical skills necessary to foster socially adaptive behavior in diverse individuals.

This manuscript reports on two district’s efforts to improve the instructional leadership of principals, and lead teacher coaches in collaboration with an external support provider.

This report consists of two parts: a survey of 67 public school systems district staff serving as principal supervisors and on-site analysis of six districts pre-service training and support systems for new principals.

Reading comprehension is a critical skill for school success. Struggling readers can benefit from computer-assisted instruction that utilizes components of effective instruction (e.g., frequent practice, immediate feedback). The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Headsprout Comprehension, a computer-assisted reading program, on the reading comprehension of six elementary students with high-incidence disabilities (i.e., learning disabilities, emotional disturbance, and other health impairment–attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (OHI-ADHD).

The authors examined the extent to which program integrity (i.e., the degree to which programs were implemented as planned) was verified and promoted in evaluations of primary and early secondary prevention programs published between 1980 and 1994. 

Much of what teachers need to know to be successful is invisible to lay observers, leading to the view that teaching requires little formal study and to frequent disdain for teacher education programs. The weakness of traditional program models that are collections of largely unrelated courses reinforce this low regard. This article argues that we have learned a great deal about how to create stronger, more effective teacher education programs.

This book provides insight into the streams that are driving leadership theory and practice today. The Nature of Leadership, Second Edition provides students with an updated and complete yet concise handbook that solidifies and integrates the vast and disparate leadership literature.

The first paper describes the theory of action and essential components of the DL Program. It presents a brief overview of how the DL Program was initially conceived and operationalized, how it was replicated for its second and current implementation effort, and lessons learned across implementations.

This study describe the schools, students, and programs in the for-profit higher education sector, it's phenomenal recent growth, and it's relationship to the federal and state governments. The study find that for-profit institutions educate a larger fraction of minority, disadvantaged, and older students, and they have greater success at reatining students in their first year and fetting them to complete short programs at the certificate and AA levels. But they also find that the for-profit students end-up with higher unemployment and "idleness" rates and lower earning six years after entering programs than do comparable students from other schools. and they have far greater student debt burdens and default rates on their student loans.

The purpose of this study was to determine principals' perceptions of how effective mentoring programs and university-based principal preparation programs are in developing the skills necessary to carry out the 13 critical success factors identified by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). A review of the literature addressed what it means to be an effective principal and what an effective mentoring program should look like.

This article reviews implementation issues in prevention trials and specifically highlights the study of implementation in the 34 programs determined to be effective in a recent review conducted by the Prevention Research Center for the Center for Mental Health Services.

The National Council of Teacher Quality (NCTQ) review examines teacher preparation program progress in adopting the necessary components of evidence-based reading instruction. The report continues the effort of two previous reports offering educators a look at trends on preparation program progress on providing this essential training.

a brief overview of findings from the Blueprints for Violence Prevention-Replication Initiative is presented, identifying factors that enhance or impede a successful implementation of these programs.

This chapter reviews the theory of school-based accountability, describes variations across programs and identifies key features influencing the effectiveness and possible unintended consequences of accountability policies. 

Part One provides the reader with information essential to understanding not only the content of the section that follow but also the wealth of material that exists in the literature on  program evaluation. Part Two introduces you to different approaches to evaluation to enlarge your understanding of the diversity of choices that evaluators and stakeholders make in undertaking evaluation.

This paper discusses common elements of successfully sustaining effective practices across a variety of disciplines.

This is a comprehensive literature review of the topic of Implementation examining all stages beginning with adoption and ending with sustainability.

The concepts of efficacy and effectiveness are examined from the viewpoints of the traditions and philosophies of health-care research and social program evaluation. 

In this report, the Southern Regional Education Board evaluates some 60 internship programs within its states and finds them lacking in a number of ways, including failing to provide real experiences in leadership. It urges policymakers, universities and school districts to create apprenticeships that better prepare aspiring principals for the demands they will face.

This report of 22 universities principal preparation programs identifies weaknesses in the training and offers recommendations for states to address the problems.

To implement RTI for prevention and identification, schools must make decisions about six components that constitute the process. The authors recommendation is that schools employ three tiers, with only one tier separating general and special education.

This study examines the influence of administrator credential programs, on-the-job experiences, and the standards in the development of urban public school principals.

This report describes how Denver Public Schools hired personnel to coach and evaluate its principals.

This study present results of a comprehensive review of principal leadership assessment practices in the United States. Using the learning-centered leadership framework, it focused on identifying the congruence (or lack thereof) between documented assessment practices and the research-based criteria for effective leadership that are associated with improved school performance.

With support from The Wallace Foundation, a Vanderbilt University team is developing a tool to monitor and assess the performance of school leaders. The Vanderbilt assessment will differ from existing tools by focusing 100 percent on instructional leadership and examining both principals and leadership teams. The paper, with two companion reports, presents the research behind and conceptual framework for the tool.

This study draws on data combining survey responses from principals, assistant principals, teachers and parents with administrative data to identify which principal skills matter most for school outcomes.

This study draws on a range of existing quantitative data resources, including Chicago Public Schools' personnel and test score data, and a biannual survey of teachers and principals to

This guide identifies practices that can improve the performance of chronically low-performing schools--a process commonly referred to as creating "turnaround schools." The four recommendations in this guide work together to help failing schools make adequate yearly progress. 

This report is a comprehensive and research-based framework outlining the conditions necessary for transformational school leaders to succeed. It offers a framework of conditions that can help districts enable great school leadership.

This report examines the issue of school principal candidate standards as evidenced by below-average verbal, quantitative, and analytic scores, as measured by standardized tests.

This report is designed to help principal preparation programs assess the quality of the training they offer.

By using data collected for the National Longitudinal Evaluation of Comprehensive School Reform (NLECSR), this article explores the factors that predict CSR model implementation and the ways that CSR model implementation varies.

New Leaders has recently published a new principal evaluation model. It includes seven modules: (1) Overview of the New Leaders Principal Evaluation Model, (2) The Principal Evaluation Rubric, (3) Setting a Principal Practice Goal + Strategic Planning, (4) Identifying Evidence, (5) Direct Observation of Principal Practice, (6) Collecting and Mapping Evidence to the Principal Practice Rubric, and (7) Providing Actionable Feedback.

This article summarizes single-subject-design intervention studies that include students with learning disabilities. The results are supportive of the pervasive influence of cognitive strategy and direct instruction models across treatment domains and of the notion that variations in sample definition moderate treatment outcomes.

The Teacher Education Committee at Northwestern Oklahoma State University approved the development of a competency-based teacher education program. A subcommittee identified and wrote professional education competencies which students should master prior to program completion.

Many schools and teachers are striving to create more dynamic classroom learning environments that encourage students to think critically and manage their own learning in preparation for college and careers. Some observers view formative assessment as a means to this end.

Assessing fidelity of implementation of school-based interventions is a critical factor in successful implementation and sustainability. The Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI) was developed as a comprehensive measure of all three tiers of School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) and is intended to measure the extent to which the core features of SWPBIS are implemented with fidelity.

The aim of this study is to examine difference in the effect of instructional methods (lecture-discussion versus group discussion) and teaching talent on teacher trainees student learning outcomes. It was conducted by a quasi-experimental design using the factorialized (2 x 2) version of the nonequivalent control group design. 

The chapter describes five categories of theoretical approaches that achieve three overarching aims: process models, which are aimed at describing and/or guiding the process of translating research into practice; determinant frameworks, classic theories and implementation theories, which are aimed at understanding and/or explaining what influences implementation outcomes; and evaluation frameworks, which are aimed at evaluating implementation. Awareness of how the approaches differ is important to facilitate the selection of relevant approaches.

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 ESEA Reauthorization

This report provides an overview of NYCLA’s flagship principal preparation program. Intended to help others involved in principal preparation think through important elements of principal preparation, including candidate selection, developing experiential learning opportunities, and funding, staffing and sustaining the program, the guide shares NYCLA’s successes and lessons learned during the 11 years we have delivered the Aspiring Principals Program in New York City, as well as through our work with various state and district partners nationally to adapt the program.

The partiality of the lecture format has been made visible by studies that compare it with a different style of instruction, called active learning. This approach provides increased structure, feedback and interaction, prompting students to become participants in constructing their own knowledge rather than passive recipients.

This article examines variations in patterns in the enactment of a large-scale kindergarten through Grade 12 science inquiry program. Student data reports in the GLOBE program provide a useful measure of implementation because key design elements in the program are student collection and reporting of local environmental data.

Donald Campbell was an American social psychologist and noted experimental social science researcher who did pioneering work on methodology and program evaluation. He has also become—posthumously—an unlikely hero of the anti-testing and accountability movement in the United States.

The purpose of this paper is to identify common roles played by principals, how these roles differ across types of schools, and finally, how effectively are preparation programs training principals in these roles.

This paper describes Auburn University's story of developing an innovative field-based master's level principal preparation program. The program’s goal was to align the program's curriculum and internship experiences with state and other accrediting agency standards, current leadership preparation research, and local educational agency (LEA) partner input and support. 0

This book presents information and tools necessary to successfully evaluate all types of educational leaders and improve both individual and organizational performance.

In this report, the Southern Regional Education Board outlines critical actions that states, districts, universities and principals themselves should take as part of a systematic plan to address principal succession. The report makes the case for principal succession planning and describes six steps for succession planning that states and districts can implement to ensure they have the right principals for the job.

A commonly used research design in applied behavior analysis involves comparing two or more independent variables. There were some consistencies across studies, with half resulting in equivalent outcomes across comparisons. In addition, most studies employed the use of an alternating treatments or multi-element single-subject design and compared a teaching methodology. 

A critical review of reading programs requires objective and in-depth analysis. For these reasons, the authors offer the following recommendations and procedures for analyzing critical elements of programs.

A recent large-scale evaluation of Reading Recovery, a supplemental reading program for young struggling readers, supports previous research that found it to be effective.  In a 4 year, federally funded project, almost 3,500 students in 685 schools found that generally students benefitted from the intervention. Students receiving Reading Recovery receive supplemental services in a 1:1 instructional setting for 30 minutes 5 days a week from an instructor trained in Reading Recovery.  In the study reported here, students who received Reading Recovery had effect sizes of .35-.37 relative to a control group across a number of measures of reading.  These represent moderate effect sizes and account for about a 1.5 month increase in skill relative to the control group.  Even though the research supports the efficacy of the intervention, it also raises questions about its efficiency.  The schools that participated in the study served about 5 students and the estimated cost per student has ranged from $2,000-$5,000.  These data raise questions about the wisdom of spending this much money per student for growth of about a month and a half.

We report findings from a quasi-experimental evaluation of the recently implemented US$5,000 retention bonus program for effective teachers in Tennessee’s Priority Schools. We estimate the impact of the program on teacher retention using a fuzzy regression discontinuity design by exploiting a discontinuity in the probability of treatment conditional on the composite teacher effectiveness rating that assigns bonus eligibility.

Which blended-learning model should they choose? Are Station Rotations the ideal, or Flex studios? Is Carpe Diem’s Individual Rotation the gold standard, FirstLine’s Lab Rotation, Summit’s Flex model, or Woodland Park’s Flipped Classroom?

This paper analyzed the results of research on the effects of ability grouping and acceleration on students' academic achievement. Nineteen meta-analyses were met criteria for inclusion for the review. Results were found for improved academic achievement within-class grouping, cross-grade grouping by subject, and grouping for the gifted. No positive effects were identified for between-class grouping. The results were consistent regardless of whether students were high, medium, or low achievers. The study found acceleration appeared to have a positive, moderate, and statistically significant impact on students’ academic achievement.

The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between training procedures and treatment integrity. 

A Precision Teaching program for basic math facts was designed for students in the 5th, 6th, and 7th grade level in a regular primary school. This study adds to the knowledge of the efficacy and importance of Precision Teaching and mathematic performance monitoring.

This article focuses on the systemic implementation features of SWPBS as a means of increasing the accurate adoption and sustained implementation of effective behavioral practices at the individual student, classroom, and school-wide levels. This article describes SWPBS, suggest how SWPBS might be implemented at broader systems levels, and discuss research and practice implications.

This checklist is designed to be completed by the PBIS Team once a quarter to monitor activities for implementation of PBIS in a school. The team should complete the Action Plan at the same time to track items that are In Progress or Not Yet Started items.

This meta-analysis examines the impact of 1^st tier reading instruction on reading outcomes for students in grades 4-12 in an Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS) service delivery model. 37 studies met criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis. The study finds small, but positive effects for 1^st tier reading instruction on comprehension, vocabulary, and indicates minimum evidence for struggling readers maintaining or improving reading comprehension over struggling students receiving typical instruction. Hedges’s g was used calculating effect sizes. Because of the limited number of studies examining phonics/word recognition and fluency instruction, it was not possible these critical instruction areas in this meta-analysis.

Treatment fidelity reporting practices are described for journals that published general and special education intervention research with high impact factors from 2005 through 2009. The authors reviewed research articles, reported the proportion of intervention studies that described fidelity measurement, detailed the components of fidelity measurement reported, and determined whether the components of fidelity reported differed based on the research design, the type of intervention, or the number of intervention sessions.

This book is about the creation and 14 year evolution of a public alternative inner-city high school—New Haven, CT's High School in the Community (HSC). This school lived an idea—empowerment. Students were encouraged to participate in shaping many aspects of their education, teachers were responsible for running the school, and parents invited to help govern.

Intended for state officials involved in the assessment and approval of university and other programs to train future school principals, this report describes five design principles for effective program evaluation.

Simple experimental studies randomize study participants into two groups: a treatment group that includes participants who receive the offer to participate in a program or intervention, and a control group that includes participants who do not receive that offer. Such studies primarily address questions about the program impacts on the average outcomes of participants.

This report represents the first systematic comparison of student outcomes in schools led by the Aspiring Principals Program (APP) graduates after three years to those in comparable schools led by other new principals.

The purpose of this essay is to describe quality teacher induction that has evolved from “fourth-wave” (1997–2006) teacher induction program development and research. A definition of quality induction is proposed, and a set of induction goals and components are outlined.

This study compares the effect size and return on investment for rapid assessment, between, increased spending, voucher programs, charter schools, and increased accountability.

We tested the hypothesis that students in psychology of women classes would perform better on materials covered by multiple-choice exams when the first author presented these materials with active learning versus lecture, autonomous readings, and video presentations alone. Across 3 classes, we coded exam items according to how the instructor presented relevant materials and recorded classwide performance.