By the time Donald J. Trump was running for president in 2024, he had landed on a clear vision for the federal government's role in education. In short, he had concluded that the federal government's power over education should be relinquished to states, local communities, and, most importantly, families. Early into his second term, Trump has…

The Wall Street Journal declared 2011 "The Year of School Choice" citing that "no fewer than 13 states" had enacted school choice programs that year. It was a grand year for educational opportunity, but it was also the last bright light before an era of education policy malaise and disinterest. Understanding what occurred…

The goal of the Connecticut Special Education Computer Network Project is to develop and field test a special education computer network with schools and school districts within the state. SpecialNet, a national computer network of special educators, will be used as the means to achieve this goal. The project, it is hoped, will help to enhance…

The Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) is a province-wide partnership program whose goal is to improve student learning and performance by fostering initiatives that reflect the unique needs and circumstances of each school authority. It is currently ending its third cycle and ninth year of implementation. "The Colloquium on…

In 1979, Ohio passed a law creating a Rehabilitation Division within its Industrial Commission and authorizing the building of two comprehensive rehabilitation centers to serve disabled workers. Ohio provides industrial rehabilitation services almost entirely through the public sector. This paper describes industrial rehabilitation policies and…

The development of the data bank and tracking system used by the Alabama State Department of Education is reviewed. A form to be filled out by the teacher was developed and pilot tested. Problems, including a lack of consistency in student records, were identified. Following passage of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act,…

A program evaluation unit was established in the Louisiana Department of Education. A unit capable of measuring and assuring the effectiveness of several programs and projects either operating or proposed was desired. The Department responded to requests to implement program evaluations. Many requests were from program administrators who needed…

A central argument for the existence of the South Carolina Educational Television Network (ETV) follows an economic theme. In the last three years ETV has conducted 319 teleconferences to provide specialized training for 74,000 people. The use of teleconferences during that period of time has provided services that could have cost the state eight…

A new teacher appraisal process involving 5 competencies and 163 indicators has been devised by the Provincial Government of Ontario, Canada. Principals are being held responsible for the appraisals, and the competencies and indicators are being imposed on professional practice. This paper suggests that a better approach to professional growth…

Assessment and evaluation can be important tools in improving the effectiveness and quality of programs, especially criminal justice programs, if they are integrated into the plans and designs of strategies instead of being added later. An evaluation systems approach to program development is needed to ensure that effectiveness and efficiency are…

Provides an overview of the recently developed state accountability system for public elementary and secondary schools in Rhode Island. Discusses accountability systems as technologies of social control and considers the costs, benefits, uncertainties, and necessary tensions associated with accountability systems. (Author/SLD)

An educational evaluation design based on a non-linear model of change is presented for use in configuring statewide and/or district-wide systems to support schools in which all students learn to think and acquire basic skills and information. Discussed as a concrete example is Connecticut's Common Core of Learning (CCL), which describes what the…

The implications of the lessons learned through an evaluability assessment (EA) of the Title II Basic Skills Improvement Program (BSIP) for State Education Agency (SEA) support of model demonstration programs are discussed. The purposes, methodology and uses of the EA process are presented. Also included is a discussion of the details of the…

This document reports briefly on a meeting sponsored by the National Association of State Boards of Education and attended by state-level policy-makers from nine states deeply involved in desegregation efforts. Topics discussed by the participants in relation to desegregation efforts included funding, judicial and legislative commitment, state…

The objectives of this paper are threefold. First, a model is proposed for unifying massive amounts of conceptual and numerical information flowing from the measures of the accountability movement in Ohio and the materials that are publicly available to educators. Second, this model is translated into useable forms of information that help…