A statewide evaluation of the Wisconsin Instant Information System for Students and Counselors (WISC) was conducted by surveying a stratified random sample of the user populations including students, counselors, and teachers. Each of the three user groups in the 103 high schools involved in the survey was given a questionnaire which focused on the…

The Data Quality Campaign is a national, collaborative effort to encourage and support state policymakers to improve the collection, availability and use of high-quality education data and to implement state longitudinal data systems to improve student achievement. The campaign aims to provide tools and resources that will assist state development…

"Houghton Mifflin Mathematics" is a core curriculum for kindergarten through grade 6 students at all ability levels. According to its developer, "Houghton Mifflin Mathematics" emphasizes the five content strands and processes recommended by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards. At each grade level the…

This resource guide is the outcome of a 1989-1990 survey of school practices and programs that was distributed to all middle-level principals in Wisconsin public schools. The purposes of the survey were to assess the extent of middle-level programming in Wisconsin; highlight some needs in a school improvement effort; and share promising practices.…

This quasi-experimental study examined the effectiveness of Assessing One and All (AOA), a Web-based teacher professional development program. AOA was designed to enhance teachers' assessment literacy and skills in general and inclusive educational assessment practices. Fifty-five teachers from Arizona, South Carolina, and Wisconsin participated…

This year the Center on Education Policy analyzed data on the achievement of different groups of students in two distinct ways. First, it looked at grade 4 test results to determine whether the performance of various groups improved at three achievement levels--basic and above, proficient and above, and advanced. Second, it looked at gaps between…

An evaluation of secondary vocational education in Wisconsin was made using self-evaluation data from 55 schools. Each school gathered data from graduates, employers, advisory committee members, staff, and current students. Findings from the data were synthesized under five outcome areas: employment, postsecondary training, training satisfaction,…

During the fall of 1976, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) initiated a statewide study of educational needs as they related to the missions of the DPI. Part of this study, called the Statewide Assessment of Educational Needs (SWAN), was a citizens' opinion poll designed to review state-level priorities. Three topics were…

Wisconsin's Interlibrary Library Loan Task Force was created in 1994 to identify and discuss effective patterns and methods of sharing resources among libraries of all types in Wisconsin and to determine the direction that different organizational levels should take in resource sharing, and to evaluate existing state-wide resource-sharing…

This paper is one in a series of research papers related to the state role in youth employment and training. It describes seven state-sponsored youth employment and training programs, representing a varied range of approaches that states have undertaken to address their youth employment problems. The first section of this paper provides capsule…

The following paper presents the findings from an evaluative research project that investigated the merits and challenges of an academic bridge program between Milwaukee Public School high school students and the University of Wisconsin Madison. Using a mixed-method design, the researchers focused on evaluating the three-week writing workshops…

The "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" examines what is arguably the single most powerful authority over the teaching profession: state government. This Wisconsin edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the first of what will be an annual look at the status of state policies…

The 12 states comprising the North Central Region have been affected in similar ways by the farm crisis of the 1980s. Statewide surveys show sizeable proportions of farm operations that are experiencing moderately high levels of financial stress. The problems caused by chronic stress on family structure and functioning, the loss of mainstreet…

Comprehensive school reform calls for a "whole-school" and coordinated approach to improve schools. The strategy differs from piecemeal and fragmented efforts that also in the past have seemed only to lead to short-lived changes. To stimulate whole-school reform across the country, Congress appropriated funds in FY1998 for the U.S.…

This report presents a summary and synthesis of data from 169 Wisconsin schools, all of which conducted extensive vocational program self-evaluations in 1987-91. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the evaluation project process, including the survey instruments used and a list of participating schools. The next eight chapters review selected data…