This paper describes how the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is using constructivist theory and research to inform educational policy and practice. The state's most concentrated and comprehensive effort in this direction is Project Construct, a unified instructional approach for children ages 3-7. The project consists of…

This 3-year plan for development of services for persons with developmental disabilities in Minnesota covers the period from October 1, 1991 to September 30, 1994. Such a plan is required under the federal Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 1990. The plan's first section describes and defines developmental…

This annual report summarizes activities of the Alabama Public Library Service for the fiscal year 1992. The following general areas are discussed: (1) agency services, including agency restructuring and personnel lay-offs, children's summer library program, the state union list of serials, automated systems, and production of a second edition of…

This is the first report from a 5-year study of the classroom level effects of state assessment reforms. The first year examines changes in the teaching of writing and mathematics in Kentucky elementary and middle schools as a result of the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System and the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). This report…

This report summarizes the essential elements of state-funded prekindergarten programs across the United States. To be included in the report, a program had to be supported primarily by state funds, have early education as a goal, focus on children younger than kindergarten entry age, and provide direct service to children rather than concentrate…

This newsletter features innovations in resource management and information technology to support New York State government. The newsletter contains the following six sections: (1) "Electronic Commerce: Government Services in the New Millennium" -- examining the need for government involvement in electronic commerce policy and…

This volume contains comprehensive four-page scorecards for the United States as a whole, each state, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories reporting progress toward the National Education Goals. The U.S. scorecard charts progress on 26 national indicators of educational progress, and the state scorecards chart progress on 33 similar…

In 1998 the Colorado State General Assembly passed a bill that revised the schedule for implementation of the Colorado Student Assessment Program of state assessments. During the 1998-99 school year, the state assessment was to include third-grade literacy, fourth-grade reading and writing, and seventh-grade reading and writing. The newsletters in…

A paper, "Young Children Face the States: Issues and Options for Early Childhood Programs," by W. Norton Grubb, is summarized in this policy brief. A discussion of the decisions that state policy makers must make and descriptions of the historical conflicts that persist within the early childhood movement and the current national status of early…

In Virginia, distance learning means the "Electronic Classroom," which is a distance education program of two-way audio and one-way video broadcast transmission of instruction from Varina High School (since September 1984) and Wise Vocational-Technical School (since September 1987). Each distance learning receive classroom is equipped…

Demographic and economic materials relevant to rural economic development are the focus of this description of the types of information that are collected by the U.S. Bureau of the Census and how this information can be accessed. Information provided on demographic materials includes collection methods--the census, surveys, and administrative…

This paper focuses on the use of alternative assessments at the state level with a focus on the Connecticut experience. Judging from the size of audiences attending sessions on alternative assessments at national conferences and the numbers of articles appearing on performance assessment in recent educational journals, it is obvious that there is…

This report presents information on the status of arts education in South Dakota schools. Central to the report are the findings of a statewide survey of school districts that was conducted as part of a long-term project to advance the arts in South Dakota schools. Findings are reported in a number of areas, including budgets, staffing, course…

The Ohio At-Risk Linkage Team Project focused on strengthening state and local linkages of programs and services offered to at-risk persons. The state linkage team provided leadership for local-level interagency linkage development. In April 1990 and October 1991, two workshops trained 29 local linkage teams. The resulting action plans specified…

This annual report summarizes activities of the Alabama Public Library Service for the fiscal year 1991. The following general areas are discussed: (1) agency services, including the effects of money shortages, children's programs, automated systems, the new state union list of serials, acquisitions, audiovisual services, and staffing; (2)…