Education

Publications, Presentations, and Current Research Projects

Publications and Presentations

Connecting a Disjointed System: A First Look at Aligning Education in Alaska Research Summary. November 2008. By G. Williamson McDiarmid and Alexandra Hill.

Alaska Native Graduates of UAA: What Can They Tell Us? Research Summary. March 2008. By Diane Erickson and Diane Hirshberg.

The University of Alaska: How Is It Doing? May 2008. Research Summary. By Theodore L. Kassier and Alexandra Hill

Report on the Anchorage School District’s Alaska Native Pilot Project at Willow Crest Elementary and Romig Middle Schools 2006-2007, October 2007. By Diane Hirshberg, Alexandra Hill, Rosyland Frazier, Meghan Wilson.

Kids Count Alaska An annual series of data books that report on just about every measure of well-being among Alaska’s children, from infant mortality to school achievement to juvenile crime. Data books from: 1996, 1997, 1998-99, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006-2007

Turnover Among Alaska's Teachers. Research Summary 69. Alexandra Hill, Diane Hirshberg. July 2008.

UPDATED: University of Alaska Research: An Economic Enterprise. March 2007. By    Scott Goldsmith.

UA Policy Brief: The Case for Strengthening Education in Alaska. November 2006. By     Alexandra Hill, Lee Gorsuch, Mary Killorin, and Pam Cravez.

Alaska Civic Learning Assessment Project; FInal Report and Policy Brief. November    2006. By Letitia Fickel, Barbara Hood, Diane Hirshberg and Alexandra Hill.

Civics Education in Alaska. October 2006. By Diane Hirshberg, Letitia Fickel, and    Alexandra Hill.

Finding Teachers for Alaska:Demand, Supply, and Turnover. April 2006. By Diane      Hirshberg and Lexi Hill

Research Summary: Turnover Among Alaska's Teachers: How Many Leave Their      Jobs? April 2006. By Diane Hirshberg and Alexandra Hill.

Long-Term Effects of Boarding Schools on Alaska Natives and Their Communities.    PDF. September 2005. By Diane Hirshberg and Suzanne Sharp. Click here to see    their presentation on the same subject given December 1, 2005.

Enrollment Trends at University of Alaska Community Campuses. 2 MB PDF.    September 2005. By Scott Goldsmith, Alexandria Hill, and Mary Killorin. Click here to    read the report appendix.

APTE Survey Summary. PDF. May 2005.
  The Alaska Partnership for Teacher Enhancement (APTE) surveyed Alaska school   district superintendents in the fall of 2004 about their perceptions of new teachers   trained in Alaska, their relationships with the University of Alaska and the Alaska   Department of Education and Early Development, and their thoughts about the High   School Graduation Qualifying Examination.  Forty-six of Alaska ’s 53 districts   answered. Click here for a summary of results.

Alaska School District Cost Study Update. PDF. January 2005. By Bradford Tuck,    Matthew Berman, Alexandra Hill. ISER's full report on geographic cost differences    among school districts, and a summary, are posted here.
   Full report PDF.
   Summary PDF. How Much Different Are Costs Among Alaska's School Districts?
   To see the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee's memo about the study and    fiscal notes prepared by the Alaska Department of Education and Early    Development, click here to go to the committee's site.

The Economics of University Research. June 2004. PDF. Scott Goldsmith and Pam Cravez.    

An Alaskan Law School: Is it feasible? By Mary Killorin.

A Review of Alaska School District Cost Study. PDF. January 2004. By Bradford Tuck.

Evaluation of Rose Urban/Rural Exchange. This is a three-part evaluation of a    program that brings rural students to urban areas, and vice-versa, to improve    urban-rural understanding. Copies of the three evaluations (Evaluation of Student    Exchange, Evaluation of Teacher Training, and Evaluation of Sister Schools) are    available for 10 cents per page from ISER. By G. Williamson McDiarmid and    Rosyland Frazier.

2001 Program Evaluation: Urban/Rural Youth Program, Summary.

2002 Program Evaluation: Rose Urban/Rural Program, Summary.

2003 Program Evaluation: Rose Urban/Rural Program, Summary.

Rural Educator Preparation Partnerships: Partnering to Success; 2002/2003    Evaluation Report. An evaluation of a program intended to increase the number of    teachers in rural Alaska school districts who are either Alaska Native or long-term    rural residents. 1MB PDF. December 2003. By G. Williamson McDiarmid and    Alexandra Hill.

Evaluation of Special Olympics Curriculum. PDF. October 2003. By G. Williamson    McDiarmid, Rosyland Frazier.

Special Olympics and Alaska's Special Education Students. 1 MB PDF. February    2003. By G. Williamson McDiarmid, Rosyland Frazier.

Retaining Quality Teachers for Alaska: How can Alaska recruit and retain teachers?    PDF. December 2002. By Bill McDiarmid, Eric Larson, Alexandra Hill.
   Executive Summary 164 KB PDF.
   To see survey instruments:
       Teacher Exit Survey 514 KB PDF  
       Instructional Aides Survey 385 KB PDF
 

A Doctoral Program in Leadership and Policy Studies: Is It Feasible? Prepared for    Steering Committee on a Joint PhD Program in Leadership and Policy Studies.    PDF. November 2002. By Mary Killorin.

Current and Future Demand For Distance Education. PDF. February 1998. By G.    Williamson McDiarmid, Scott Goldsmith, Alexandra Hill, and Teresa Hull.

Stalking the Schoolwork Module: Teaching Prospective Teachers to Write Historical    Narratives. PDF. July 1997. By Peter Vinten-Johansen, Department of History,    Michigan State University, and G. Williamson McDiarmid.

Who Pays for Alaska's School? Research Summary No. 56. PDF. March 1995.

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Current Research Projects

    Evaluation of the Alaska Educational Innovations Network

    Teacher Supply & Demand
    .
    Melissa Hill at Alaska Teacher Placement, UA Statewide, has brought together a group which includes ISER (Diane Hirshberg & Lexi Hill), the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, the Alaska Department of Labor, and the Alaska Department Administration Division of Retirement & Benefits (TRS/PRS) to identify promising strategies to address ongoing teacher shortage and teacher turnover issues in Alaska. ISER is conducting the data analysis and will produce a report detailing current and anticipated teacher supply and demand. The project is funded by federal, state and university funds. 

    Teaching American History. Researchers will use an experimental evaluation design in which they will evaluate success of "Clio" for the Anchorage School District as a part of their application for a Teaching American History grant from USDOE.

    Digital Learning Evaluation: In response to AASB's establishing Consortium for Digital Learning (providing laptops for students), ISER researchers, as external evaluators for the project, will assist districts with internal evaluation plans; work with districts to define data for Consortium-wide and summative evaluation; and aggregate, analyze, and summarize outcome data. Researchers will also prepare summative evaluation reports on the Consortium's succcess. Funding agency: Association of Alaska School Boards

    Evaluation of AHF Teacher Training and Sister School Exchange Programs. Continued evaluation of programs for AHF begun in 2000; design/conduct program evaluations and collection of data from teachers/students, analyze data, and make recommendations for improvements. Funding agency:Alaska Humanities Forum

    The Alaska Native Studies Curriculum and Teacher Development Project (ALASKOOL)

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