SCEPC Projects
Parent, Student, and Teacher Perceptions of School Climate: Investigations Across Organizational Levels
This project, in collaboration with the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee and the South Carolina Department of Education, has several purposes: 1) to investigate the dimensions of school climate; 2) to compare perceptions of school climate across elementary, middle, and high school grade levels; and 3) to examine the relationships between climate, school report card variables (such as the percentage of teachers with advanced degrees), and indicators of school performance, such as standardized test scores.
To read the project paper presented at the 2008 American Educational Research Association's annual meeting in New York, New York on March 26, 2008 click here.
For other project papers and presentations, click here.
South Carolina Reading First Initiative
This project, commissioned by the South Carolina State Department of Education, evaluates and monitors the implementation and impact of the Reading First Initiative. This Initiative is the centerpiece of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and is designed to provide scientifically based reading instruction to students in grades kindergarten through three in Title I schools across the state. A summary of the first three years of program results was presented at the 2007 American Educational Research Association's Annual Meeting in New York, New York on March 27, 2008.
The Volume I report presents the evaluation methods, findings, and recommendations for SCRF from the 2006-2007 school year and from activities conducted during the summer of 2007. The 2006-2007 school year was the third year of implementation of the SCRF Initiative. The report is divided into sections by the types of data reported including achievement results, participant group surveys, professional development evaluation results, and evaluation of the School Leadership Team (SLT) meetings.
For full appendices results for 2006-2007 (Volume II), click here.
To read other SCRF papers and presentations, click here.
Evaluation of ImPACT: Improving Performance through the Arts, Communications, and Technology
This evaluation conducted in collaboration with the University of South Carolina's Office of Program Evaluation for Richland School District Two assessed the effectiveness of the ImPACT program activities to determine if they produced meaningful changes in minority group isolation, teacher performance, and student achievement.
For surveys results included as part of ImPACT's 2007 Annual Performance Report, click here.
Workshop evaluation results were also reported.
A Descriptive Study of South Carolina ’s Gifted and Talented Programs
This project, commissioned by the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee, described the operation of gifted and talented programs in South Carolina’s 85 school districts. This included a review of gifted and talented programs in several states, as well as related program legislation, regulations, financial and operational data.
This study became a "catalyst" for program change among program stakeholders and legislative staff. The study's findings related to the disparity in funding levels across districts, the large differences in the percentages of children served by district, and the need for more institutions of higher education to offer the gifted endorsement for teachers. These findings led to legislative changes benefiting the gifted and talented programs of SC.
To read about other projects conducted by the South Carolina Educational Policy Center, click here.