Announcement
Accountability Conference
Presentation materials from the Accountability Conference are available here. Click on the the link below to open a folder containing files from the presentation.
Accountability Materials
Applying Cognitive Diagnostic Modeling in Schools: Mini-Workshop
In addition, the presentation materials from the ERM Mini-Conference (Applying Cognitive Diagnostic Modeling in Schools, April 2008) are available here. Click on the the link below to open a folder containing files from the presentation.
Mini-Conference Materials
Department of Educational Research Methodology
The Center for Educational Research and Evaluation
The Center for Educational Research and Evaluation (CERE) at the University of North Carolina - Greensboro provides educational research, development, and evaluation services to public and private agencies, including school systems, state education agencies, testing organizations, private foundations, and corporations. Since its inception in 1980, the CERE personnel have conducted research and evaluation studies supported by grants and contracts valued in excess of $2.5 million.
The Center is capable of delivering a broad range of technical, analytic, and consultative research services. Center personnel have expertise in psychometrics; educational testing; survey research methodology; student, teacher and administrator assessment; planning, program development, and assessment in higher education, school psychology, special education, and social services; school curriculum development; and evaluation of inter-group relations in organizational settings.
General Contact
Mailing Address
John Willse
Center for Educational Research and Evaluation,
School of Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro,
211 Curry Building, P. O. Box 26170,
Spring Garden Street,
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
Conact
Telephone:336-334-3435
FAX:336-256-0405
Affiliated Links
- Psychometric Society (Professor Terry Ackerman, Secretary)
- NCPIMS Site
Capabilities in Computer-based Testing and Measurement Research
The Center houses a state-of-the-art computer facility capable of conducting a wide range of computer-based testing (CBT) studies and projects. The facility can also function as a secure computerized testing site. Dr. Terry Ackerman, Dr. Richard Luecht, and Dr. Linda Wightman - all senior faculty within the Department of Educational Research Methodology - bring a wealth of internationally-recognized expertise in measurement and computer-based testing technologies to the Center.
Capabilities in Program Evaluation
The Center for Educational Research and Evaluation is a cornerstone of education policy research and program evaluation at UNCG. Deborah Bartz, Project Manager for the Center, is an expert in large-scale program evaluation. Since 1980, the Center has conducted program evaluations for a number of commercial, non-profit, and governmental agencies including the U. S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Public Instruction of the State of North Carolina, the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards, the Department of Law of the State of North Carolina, the Interior Design Society, the RJR/Nabisco Foundation, and the Guilford County School District. In conjunction with a course offered in the Education Research Methodology Department (ERM-643, Applied Program Evaluation in Education), Center staff also work closely with school system administrators in Guilford County and surrounding areas to provide enriched, hands-on training experiences for graduate students, while also providing top-quality, low-cost program evaluation services to the school district.
Major research conducted in the Center includes the following.
- A formative program evaluation study on the effectiveness of Science and Mathematics instruction in K-12 education in 17 NC school districts (North Carolina Partnership for Improving Mathematics and Science, NC PIMS, in progress; see link about).
- A program effectiveness study on the Reading Together Program (in progress)
- A comprehensive psychometric analysis of early childhood reading assessments for the Mississippi State Department of Education Reading Program (in progress)
- A comprehensive psychometric analysis of the Windows(tm) 2000 Certification Program examination series
- Advanced psychometric research on the Uniform CPA Examination (part of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Research Consortium).
- A four-year program evaluation study on the effectiveness of Paideia training in Guilford County Schools. Funded by the Joseph Bryan Foundation, under contract to the Guilford County School System.
- A study of drug and alcohol knowledge, attitudes and use among undergraduates in seven independent colleges and universities for the Piedmont Independent Colleges Association, with support from the U. S. Department of Education.
- A study of the effects of assigning students to mathematics and language arts classes on the basis of their achievement test scores. Also examined were the effects of test-based student assignment on racial isolation in schools and consequent student achievement. This study was supported by the Pitt County, North Carolina Public Schools.
- A three-year faculty development project in cooperation with four of the five historically-black institutions in the University of North Carolina system, supported by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education of the U. S. Department of Education. An additional grant was received from the Fund to disseminate the results of this project
- A project that included definition and development of an extensive set of indicators of school quality and development of a battery of instruments for assessing the status of elementary, middle, and high schools on those indicators as part of the Center's development of the Quality Assessment Component of the Georgia Comprehensive Evaluation System for the Georgia Department of Education. This work was supported by the Georgia Department of Education over a two-year period.
- A role delineation study of the professional responsibilities of residential interior designers with the support of The Interior Design Society, an affiliate of the National Home Furnishings Association. This study is pertinent to the life-span education mission of the School of Education and formed the basis of a professional adult education program within the field of residential interior design.
- Development of a data management system for an experimental evaluation of three alternative strategies for mainstreaming handicapped students, and evaluation of the results of the experiment. This work was supported by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
- A study of the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of registered voters concerning the Randolph County, North Carolina Public Schools, with the support of that school system.
- Design of a comprehensive evaluation of the national programs of the Close-Up Foundation of Washington, D. C. The Close-Up Foundation sponsors the Washington Week Program under which 25,000 high school students from throughout the nation are brought to Washington, D. C. to witness first hand the operation of the federal government. This work was supported by RJR-Nabisco, Inc.
- A comprehensive evaluation of the psychometric properties and quality of the teacher certification testing program operated by the State of Georgia. This work was supported by the Georgia Department of Education.
- A study of the psycho-social effects of habituated exercise on adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This work was supported by the American Lung Association, with contributions from Wesley-Long Community Hospital and the Excellence Foundation of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.