As the first major effort to use a behavioral economics lens to examine human services programs that serve poor and vulnerable families in the United States, the Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project demonstrated the value of applying behavioral insights to improve the efficacy of human services programs. The BIAS…

There are many promising psychological interventions on the horizon, but there is no clear methodology for preparing them to be scaled up. Drawing on design thinking, the present research formalizes a methodology for redesigning and tailoring initial interventions. We test the methodology using the case of fixed versus growth mindsets during the…

This study explores the effectiveness of educator preparation programs from the perspective of three female Hispanic veteran teachers serving high-needs populations of students. The study strives to contribute to research on minimum proposed standards for teacher preparation programs in Texas. Through a process of coding data from the informant…

Few psychometrically valid scales exist to assess family outcomes and the helpfulness of early intervention. This article describes the development and psychometric properties of the Family Outcomes Survey-Revised. The revision was prompted by the need to (a) create a new format that would be easier for parents to understand, (b) revise and expand…

In light of the fact that policy makers are attempting to build accountability systems that will hold teachers, and the teacher education programs that prepared them, accountable for student achievement results, failure on the part of teacher educators to repeatedly and assertively advocate for a significant role in shaping the accountability…

A quality improvement system (QIS) is an intentional effort to raise the quality of afterschool programming in an ongoing, organized fashion. There are a number of reasons the QIS is gaining popularity. The main reasons community leaders are drawn to improving quality is that they know that 1) higher quality programs will mean better experiences…

The cultural competence of 13 parenting education programs for Latino families with young children was examined in this study. Based on our analyses, we make several recommendations for improving the cultural competence and effectiveness of parenting education programs for Latino families with young children. Specifically, we recommend the…

Introduction: The results of a 2009-2010 program evaluation study that examined parents, teachers of students with visual impairments, administrators, and students regarding overall satisfaction with and effectiveness of the short-term programs at a residential school for students who are blind and visually impaired are described. The findings are…

Perhaps a decade ago, accreditation agencies might have been satisfied with a list of student learning outcomes and some evidence that students achieved them. More and more, accreditors request evidence of "improvement". It is not enough to merely demonstrate that what one is doing works reasonably well; one must also show that he or she…

Proceedings are presented of twenty public hearings conducted by the advisory council for technical-vocational education in Texas. The objectives of the hearings were to provide an opportunity for citizens to give input as to needs, assessment of resources, and dialogue regarding technical-vocational, adult, and manpower programs. The first three…

The Texas Education Agency identified the need to implement an evaluation system of performance standards for selected vocational education programs as required by the Perkins Act. The project developed criteria to assess vocational education in secondary schools in Texas. Two objectives were met during 1990-91: conduct background research on…

This study assessed the attitudes of three groups that participated in Upward Bound, a newly instituted academic advisory program at Tomball High School in Texas. It also provided a baseline of data to measure students' academic performance. The three groups, 300 high school freshmen, 115 of their parents, and 33 full time faculty, responded to…

In 1988, four studies were conducted to evaluate changes in the behavior and the knowledge of child nutrition on the part of participants in the Texas Nutrition Education and Training Program (NET). The NET Program operates synergistically with reimbursement elements of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Child Nutrition Programs to improve…

Vocational education programs for handicapped students in Texas were evaluated in order to make recommendations for improvement. Three objectives were proposed: (1) to evaluate the effectiveness of training for entry-level knowledge and skills provided to handicapped students enrolled in vocational education for the handicapped (VEH) programs; (2)…

This document on state-level planning for education in Texas by the Texas Education Agency consists of two papers. The first focuses on the long-range plan of the State Board of Education for Texas public school education. The paper summarizes this plan, describes the process by which it was developed, and analyzes the status of its implementation…