High-quality care in the earliest years of life has been shown to relate to positive developmental outcomes for children, including improved early academic skills, social-emotional competencies, and cognitive functioning. Unfortunately, the early care experiences of many children are not always high quality; rather, research suggests that…

This document presents minimum standards for programs serving gifted and talented students. The first chapter discusses program design standards, with a focus on building a flexible system of program options throughout general and special education that can be matched with the needs, strengths, and interests of gifted and talented students. The…

Conducted to determine priority areas for program improvement activities in Alabama's vocational education system, the specific objectives of this study were to develop a list of areas that are in need of vocational education research and that should be addressed through exemplary programs; develop a list of needs for curriculum development…

This final report describes a staff development project designed to provide for the effective and statewide dissemination of significant current or previous Section 353 special demonstration projects in Pennsylvania. A panel of 8 literacy experts reviewed 65 special projects funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Bureau of Adult…

A new Chapter 1 law, P.L. 100-297, was passed in 1988. Chapter 1 schools must examine the program operated during the previous school year. Schools that fail to demonstrate overall achievement gains must develop a Program Improvement Plan (PIP), a document describing how the Chapter 1 program in that school will be modified. This guide provides a…

The Greater Madison Task Force on Occupational Skills Education was formed to develop and implement a plan that would improve occupational skills education for area high school students. The task force members included 10 members from business and labor, 7 members from state agencies or higher education, and 14 members from the public school…

The first phase of this Special Vocational Teacher Education Project studied methods of updating the vocational and applied arts education program at Wayne State University. This included the classification of goals for divisional offerings, assistance in establishing divisional policies, and the development of a model for an undergraduate…

Region C Technical Assistance Center (TAC) and Region 3 Rural Technical Assistance Center (R-TAC) provide Chapter I support and technical assistance to state and local education agencies in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Region C encompasses a mix of urban centers and rural…

An overview is presented of a program that utilizes the abilities of a team of university professors to improve curriculum, build a staff development program, and establish diagnostic/prescriptive reading and mathematics programs in a junior high school. The school is in the inner city of Charleston, West Virginia, and its population is comprised…

In 1980, the Oklahoma legislature passed House Bill 1706, which focused upon four major concepts: (1) strengthening screening requirements for admission; (2) testing teachers in their curriculum field; (3) development of an entry-year assistance program for beginning teachers; and (4) staff development programs in all school districts. The Central…

Four ongoing programs in postsecondary vocational-technical education were examined in a national institute attended by 59 representatives from 31 states. Institutions reporting programs were: (1) Los Angeles Trade and Technical College, California, (2) Washtenaw Community College, Ann Arbor, Michigan, (3) Rockingham Community College, Wentworth,…

Florida's Division of Vocational Education has revamped its educational program structure. Under the new "cluster" structure, students become more widely employable than in the past, and the labor market benefits from their additional, broad-based skills. (Author)

Connecticut's Adult Performance Program (CAPP), which was initiated in 1986, is a mix of policies, training, and technical assistance activities based on the following elements: specification of expected competency-based program outcomes; development of an assessment and instructional model to facilitate achievement of the program outcomes;…

A study surveyed 44 skills centers in The Gambia through a questionnaire, evaluated them regarding vocational training, and conducted on-site research of 17 targeted centers. Findings were as follows: most operated as private organizations; the retention rate was an average of 84%; centers operated with an average student/staff ratio of about 12:1…

This handbook was designed for school-level planners (school site councils, principals, parent groups, and teachers) in developing, assessing, and improving K-12 science education programs. The main body of the handbook (chapter 2) describes the most important components of an effective science education program: (1) school-level plan; (2)…