A key objective of a federally funded grant received by the Wake County Public Schools (North Carolina) was to develop new methods of assessment. The school district decided to fulfill this objective by developing student electronic portfolios. In spite of careful planning, the development of the electronic portfolios was filled with difficulties.…

This report summarizes the 2005-2006 program evaluation results of AISD's federally-funded smaller learning communities grant program.

Reviews evidence from preschool education programs to determine what impacts quality programs can have on poor children's intellectual and social competence. Reviews evidence from Head Start to determine whether preschool programs of national scope have produced the same effects as those produced by model programs. (Author/BJV)

Explores issues faced by designers of school choice systems as numbers and types of choice arrangements proliferate and become more complex. Defines elements of a successful system of choice. The system developed will depend on the intentions, assumptions, and commitments present in the initial design. (SLD)

The Summer Transition Training Project was designed to address the needs of visually impaired adolescents and young adults by providing training in transitional and rehabilitation teaching to educators of the visually impaired and to rehabilitation professionals in six western states. This paper describes program design, implementation, and…

Reviews efforts to develop national content standards for teaching English. Today's standards movements are distinguished from earlier efforts in that the learner is recognized as active, the meaning is socially and historically contingent, and the purpose is the development of language for political power and the creation and appreciation of…

This paper explores some of the obstacles to implementation of tests required for graduation by describing state programs in existence as of October 1994 in which students were required to pass a test in order to receive a high school diploma. A survey of state testing directors used to construct the State Student Assessment Program Database was…

The 1990s show distinct changes from the 1960s in terms of the views held by education practitioners, policymakers, and the public concerning the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Developments such as the national education goals, the prospect of voluntary national education standards, and the possibility of a national system of…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of the 3-year Arkansas Deaf/Blind Children and Youth Project. This project attempted to: (1) identify, certify, count, and track children (0-21 years of age) with deaf blindness; (2) increase the number of programs serving these children in integrated settings in their home communities;…

Two programs on drug, alcohol, and sex education in two Glasgow (Scotland) high schools were evaluated to assess their effectiveness. One was a drugs and alcohol education program at City High School and the other a sexual health program at Clydeside High School. Both schools drew from a local population that included a significant number of…

This report documents the experiments by the Getty Center for Education in the Arts to research and develop content and teaching practices in school visual arts programs. An 18-month Rand Corporation study, begun in 1982, investigated discipline based art education (DBAE) visual arts programs in 7 cross country school districts. The study's two…

This monograph provides a descriptive analysis of five grant programs funded by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) in 1984. The programs were designed to stimulate the improvement and development of programs for secondary special education and to strengthen and coordinate education, training, and related services…

The Southwest Regional Laboratory (SWRL) is adapting Success for All, a prominent early-elementary school program for at-risk minority youths, for use with disadvantaged limited English proficient students whose primary language is Spanish. The Johns Hopkins University Center for Research on Effective Schooling for Disadvantaged Students is…

This evaluation report describes the Quality Improvement Program Plan for Special Educators (QUIPP) which provides supplemental professional development opportunities for New York City special education professionals and paraprofessionals at the elementary, middle, and intermediate/junior high school levels. The program stresses design of the…

This study, authorized by the General Assembly of North Carolina, investigated current indicators of the state of youth physical fitness and the availability and utilization of programs to improve fitness. The study gathered testimony from physical fitness experts, educators, administrators, and medical personnel. The study found that youth are in…