Federal education officials will face a variety of obstacles in running a $650 million innovation fund, from an expected flood of applications and concern about favoritism in picking winners, to skepticism about the government's ability to drive innovative change in education. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Education--which last month offered…

Quality physical education is recognized for its health-related benefits and should be supported as an integral component of every school's curriculum. Unfortunately, quality physical education is not easily established or maintained. Many physical education programs face challenges such as reduced staff, large class sizes, inadequate facilities…

This paper analyzes the impact of the local availability of Head Start, a public preschool program for low-income children, on the participation of immigrant children. We use propensity score methods to flexibly control for numerous individual and neighborhood characteristics and availability of other services aimed at low-income families. We find…

This article focuses on the period between 1966 and 1968, when the original vision of the policymakers of the National Teacher Corps (NTC) and the federal staffers who created the NTC initiative held sway. In their vision, the "best and brightest" (according to their criteria) could better solve the problems of educating so-called disadvantaged…

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says he is eager to use a proposed $15 billion federal incentive-grant fund in part to reward states, districts, and even nonprofit organizations that have set high standards for the students they serve. "With this fund, we really have a chance to drive dramatic changes, to take to scale what works, invest…

This volume reviews measures and programs recently undertaken by governments in several different countries to address youth unemployment and school-to-work transition. Focus is on studies of assessment methods and data needs (Part 1) and recurrent education (Part 2). The first three studies emphasize the development of assessment methods. One…

This document presents the final report of a study conducted by the Committee on Evaluation and Training Programs to assess the impact of CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) on manpower programs. The report examines the differences between CETA Title I programs and their predecessors and compares legislative goals with results. It…

The "State ESEA ['Elementary and Secondary Education Act'] Title I Participation Summary Report for 2003-04" summarizes the participation data for the Title I, Part A (Title I), Grants to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) program. This program provides federal funds to assist eligible school districts and schools in supporting…

This report examines a little noticed group of Californians: young immigrants not in school and who receive few if any educational services. The authors also observe the federal Migrant Education Program (MEP), charged with helping this group. Using MEP and census data, the authors find that many out-of-school youth work, left school while quite…

In January 2004 President Bush authorized the DC School Choice Incentive Act, an initiative funded at $14 million that created a scholarship program providing 1,700 low-income Washington, DC, children the opportunity to attend participating K-12 nonpublic schools in the district. In addition to offering opportunities to participating children, the…

The Illinois Council on Vocational Education surveyed by mail 186 educational and Job Training Partnership ACT (JTPA) representatives to evaluate the coordination between the state's vocational education system and its job training system. The response rate was 51 percent. Findings indicated that the majority of the service delivery area (SDA)…

In a few years, the United States is going to have the largest number of teenagers it has ever had; at the same time, crime among teenagers is rising, and the recreational and learning activities and jobs that teenagers need for positive development are becoming scarcer in inner city and rural areas. Efforts in youth programs during the past 25…

This report to Congress on the Federal Runaway and Homeless Youth Program summarizes the work of the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FSYB) and its grantees during fiscal years (FY) 1993 and 1994. In FY 1994, the FSYB celebrated its twentieth anniversary. During the first 20 years of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Program, the FSYB conducted a…

This report provides descriptive and statistical data on the status of child nutrition programs in Colorado. The report contains descriptions of the National School Lunch Program, school breakfast programs, the Special Milk Program, the Summer Food Service Program, the Nutrition Education and Training Program, state dietary guidelines, Colorado…

In 1991-1992, the Montana state legislature's Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Review Committee evaluated implementation of JTPA in Montana. The committee gathered background information on JTPA and state laws and programs implementing the federal programs and heard testimony on the plans and state job training programs. After 3 meetings, the…