A synthesis of findings from 38 studies on group-based applications of mastery learning strategies are presented. Meta-analytic procedures were used to combine the results of the studies and to calculate overall estimates of the effects of group-based applications. Results show that such applications yield consistently positive effects on both…

Because of increased emphasis on accountability, program evaluations today must go beyond measures of change in program participants to consider the effects, either direct or indirect, of staff development on students and their learning. A model is presented illustrating the relationship between staff development for teachers and student learning…

This paper describes a theoretical model of the multidimensional relationship between professional development activities for educators and improvements in student learning. It also examines the validity and appropriateness of the model through five in-depth case studies of school-based professional development programs. The model presented…

Grades, report cards, and other progress reports are important vehicles for communicating with families about their children's strengths, areas to target, and interventions that can be used at home. For families of children with disabilities, accurate information on learning progress is essential for understanding intervention effectiveness and…

In spring 1981, resources were allocated for the establishment of the Center for the Improvement of Teaching and Learning, which would coordinate strategies to improve methods of instruction and learning in the community colleges of the United States. The emphasis of the Center is on the development of strategies that require relatively small…

Few individuals in the history of education have had greater impact on education policy and practice than Benjamin S. Bloom. During a career that spanned more than 5 decades, his research and writing guided the development of many educational programs and provided insights into the untapped potential of educators to have all students learn well.…

This study investigated the effect of the development of mastery learning on the curriculum of preservice teacher education programs and the content of inservice professional development programs. Nine educational psychology textbooks, published since 1990, and three other texts used as supplementary textbooks were analyzed. The study found that…

The structure of a concept generally labeled "teacher efficacy" is examined. A sample of 342 prospective and experienced teachers was administered an efficacy questionnaire adapted from the research of S. Gibson and M. H. Dembo (1984). Factor analytic procedures with varimax rotation were used to generate a 2-factor solution that accounted for 32…

In recent years, different researchers and research agencies, teacher associations, national education organizations, and the U.S. Department of Education have published lists of the characteristics of "effective professional development." This study analyzed 13 of the better known of these lists to determine if they were derived through similar…

The relationship between selected contextual and socioeconomic variables and school-level results from a statewide performance-based student assessment system was studied using the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS). KIRIS uses portfolios of student work, scores from on-demand assessments, and student performance on…

This study investigated the stability of students' grades in high school courses during the academic year. Records of over 8000 high school students from five large Midwest high schools were analyzed to determine the relationship between the first achievement grade students were assigned during an academic term and their final course grades.…

Guidelines for and obstacles to focusing on student learning outcomes as the primary educational goal are presented in this paper. Five obstacles that impede the focus on student outcomes are the beliefs that: learning should be normally distributed; education's purpose is to select talent; the purpose of testing is for evaluation only; curriculum…

Mastery learning can combine the strengths of direct instruction with the strengths of discovery learning. This paper describes how mastery learning is being used in Missouri schools to enhance the quality of instruction in science at all grade levels. In addition, the dramatic results in student science achievement that have occurred within the…

All proposals for education reform include professional development as a significant element in promoting change. Questions have been raised about the effectiveness of professional development and its role in educational reform. Consequently, evaluation of professional development programs is increasing and expanding to include student…

Basic questions about the evaluation of professional development efforts are explored, including the nature and purposes of evaluation, the critical levels of professional development evaluation, and the difference between evidence and proof in evaluation. Evaluation, which is defined as the systematic investigation of merit or worth, can be…