This circular outlines the inclusion policy of the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Inclusion is defined as a combination of long-standing "least restrictive environment" policies, with an emphasis on active social membership in the class or community, but not representing a legal requirement that every child be educated in the same…

This document contains materials directly related to the actual reading test of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA), including the reading rubric, released passages, selected-response questions with answer keys, performance tasks, and scored samples of students' responses to the tasks. All of these items may be duplicated to…

This report evaluates the day care needs of Pennsylvania migrant families and the adequacy of current state and local resources and delivery system for meeting those needs. Data collection included a meeting with state program administrators; mail surveys of state, regional, and local agency administrators and staff, and of employers of migrant…

From 1989 until 1998 the U.S. Department of Education administered the National Workplace Literacy Demonstration Program. During that period, over $130 million supported some 300 projects where adult education programs partnered with thousands of businesses, agencies, and organizations to provide work-based skills to employees. While only seven…

This manual is designed to provide information to interlibrary loan (ILL) practitioners about the philosophy behind interlibrary loan, as well as a functional knowledge of its routines. The first part of the manual presents general and background material about interlibrary loans. Included in this section are a glossary of library terms, the…

This instrument is designed to help school administrators assess the level of implementation of the essential elements of the Instructional Support Teams (IST) process in Pennsylvania. The instrument is a rating sheet, or checklist, on which the presence and absence of components of the IST process are noted. The number of features in place is…

Beginning in 1999, all of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) had to be aligned with the Pennsylvania Academic Standards. This handbook describes the PSSA mathematics assessment. Following an overview of the PSSA, the second chapter focuses on the development and scoring of the mathematics assessment. Administering the assessment…

Beginning in 1999, all of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) had to be aligned with the Pennsylvania Academic Standards. This handbook describes the PSSA writing assessment, which was designed to measure individual student performance and to influence instruction. The guide contains a chart of the Pennsylvania Academic Standards…

The document reports on a study to design a model to meet the impact of the Pennsylvania Right to Education Consent Decree (particularly as it relates to the mentally retarded) through the following steps--a review of the literature, a review of existing information, a survey to determine the amount of impact in selected areas, and construction of…

Beginning in 1999, all of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) had to be aligned with the Pennsylvania Academic Standards. This handbook describes the PSSA reading assessment. It contains samples and instructions for developing assessment items for grades 5, 8, and 11. Although designed for teachers, the Handbook is meant to be a…

The Department of Education of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania summarized efforts in adult basic education (ABE) for the period of July 1, 1984, through June 30, 1985, based upon information provided for every program funded under the Adult Education Act of 1966, as amended October 19, 1984. The information showed that from 1983-84 to 1984-85,…

This document presents findings from interviews conducted to obtain information on changes that have occurred in state Special Education Advisory Panels (SEAPs) since the passage of the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The interviews investigated general organizational changes, SEAP involvement in the…

This workshop manual focuses on validation procedures designed to foster program improvement rather than compliance monitoring. The manual is in eight chapters. Chapter 1 looks at the elements to be evaluated--organization and management, training, student assessment, design and implementation of classroom interventions, team work, screening a…

This document contains the final report of Project PAL (Pennsylvania Adult Literacy), designed to address staff development needs at a Pennsylvania adult literacy center, and three manuals: a tutor training resource manual for use by coordinators in developing a 9.5 hour tutor-training session, a tutor handbook for volunteers, and a coordinator's…

A needs sensing confirmation study was conducted to identify the Appalachia Educational Laboratory's (AEL) long term research and development program needs and provide guidelines for its seven member states' activities. The AEL Board of Directors, individuals serving in similar positions as the Board members, and a sample of non-public school…