This study addresses the issue of language barriers between healthcare providers and patients in medical contexts. Such barriers can significantly hinder patients' access to quality healthcare and treatment. To this end, this qualitative research builds on previous studies and compares language interpreter perceptions of in-person and virtual…

Great teachers recognize great assessments. As policy and education leaders work to make sure state tests are measuring the problem-solving, writing, and critical-thinking skills students need for success, they should convene and rely on teachers to review test quality and help answer the question: Do the questions on our state test reflect…

Since 1973, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has gathered information about student achievement in mathematics. Results of these periodic assessments, produced in print and web-based formats, provide valuable information to a wide variety of audiences. They inform citizens about the nature of students' comprehension of the…

With more than half of children with disabilities being educated in the general education classroom, and with federal education law requiring improved learning outcomes for these students, preparing general education teachers to work effectively with all students is critical. This report on teacher certification requirements in the nine Northeast…

The National Writing Project (NWP) is the nation's premier professional development network dedicated to improving the teaching of writing. The NWP network comprises nearly 200 local sites in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. This report presents the results of a seven-year survey study of teachers participating in NWP summer…

This report describes recent efforts to modify, test, and evaluate an experimental online database consisting of 15 vendor-supplied, controlled subject vocabularies or thesauri. The experimental database, called the Vocabulary Switching System (VSS), is designed to enhance search strategies and ultimately retrieval performance for users of online…

This report examines the status of social studies in the Deleware elementary school grades. The objective is not only to inform policymakers in the state of Delaware, but also to correlate with other states' educational systems. Information was assembled by a statewide survey of district-level social studies supervisors; a statewide survey of…

The data presented in this combined report--"Rankings & Estimates"--provide facts about the extent to which local, state, and national governments commit resources to public education. As one might expect in a nation as diverse as the United States--with respect to economics, geography, and politics--the level of commitment to…

This study examined the demographic characteristics of Internet users compared with those of the general U.S. population, the characteristics of areas where broadband Internet transport is available and of consumers who selected a broadband transport provider, and the factors influencing consumers' choice of an ISP (Internet service provider) and…

The makeup of college and university governing boards and the characteristics of board members were studied in 1985, as an update of a 1977 survey. A total of 215 single-campus boards and 157 multicampus boards provided information that was statistically adjusted to represent the traits of the 2,200 boards governing of the nation's 3,000 nonprofit…

This study of the legal services provided for the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), Maryland has two purposes: (1) to determine the cost-effectiveness and quality of current arrangements; and (2) to present alternative arrangements with estimates of their costs, effectiveness, and acceptability. MCPS budgets significant funds for legal…

Key findings are presented from a survey conducted by the California Research Bureau showing that most California school districts incorporate violence prevention program curricula with a strong police and security presence. Many schools have installed closed circuit video surveillance cameras, canine searches, and metal detectors. Unfortunately,…

This document comprises the results of the 1987 Basic Activities Surveys, which measure the opinions of certified staff, classified staff, and parents concerning the instructional performance of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). Participants were chosen using a stratified random sample technique to insure proportional…

This study of the feasibility of conducting a cost-benefit analysis in the complex environment of the formalities used in the United States as part of its administration of the copyright law focused on the formalities of copyright notice, deposit, registration, and recordation. The U.S. system is also compared with the less centralized copyright…

This report presents the findings of a study done by a college-wide task force at the College of DuPage (Illinois) on academic calendar formats in an effort to determine whether to retain the quarter system or convert to another calendar. A brief introduction gives the background to the issue at DuPage. A section on procedures explains that the…