NORMES Researchers Make National Presentations
Posted on 3/25/2009
Faculty and staff members of the College of Education and Health Professions made presentations at the "What Works in Educational Partnerships" conference at Arizona State University in Phoenix on Feb. 20 and 21.
Presenters of "Enhancing Formative Assessment and Evaluation Infrastructure Through P-20" were Sean Mulvenon, professor of educational statistics and research methods and director of the college's National Office for Research on Measurement and Evaluation Systems, Denise Airola, assistant director of NORMES, Karee Dunn, clinical assistant professor of educational statistics and research methods, and Rachel Sutcliffe, a student in the educational statistics and research methods program.
The four also made a presentation, with John Calderone of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, called "Effective Partnerships of K-12 and Higher Education: Two Bites of the Same Financial Apple."
The "What Works" conference was the first for a new office at Arizona State. The conference was designed to create a network of leaders and scholars interested in what works in dealing with important social and educational problems.
Mulvenon and Airola also made two presentations at the 22nd annual Management Information Systems conference in Seattle on Feb. 20, including "Making Mole Hills Out of Mountains of Data: Professional Development to Survive the Data Deluge." The presentation was made in conjunction with Baron Rodriguez, chief information officer for the Oregon Department of Education, and Mickey Garrison, director of school improvement for the Oregon Education Enterprise Steering Committee.
NORMES was established to address the immediate need for improved student assessment and evaluation practices in school systems. NORMES uses interactive technology to identify best educational practices and curriculum interventions that contribute to increased student achievement.
NORMES works with the Arkansas Department of Education collecting and analyzing millions of pieces of student data, including grades, standardized test scores and attendance, to produce the department's annual "report cards," which give detailed demographic and achievement information for every school in the state's 245 school districts.
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