The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) requires states and the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) to define and determine whether schools are making adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward meeting the goal of 100 percent academic proficiency. To address tribes' needs for cultural preservation, NCLBA allows tribal groups to…

The process of reauthorization of college student financial aid legislation may be instrumental in reducing the burden and complexity of the financial aid application and need analysis process through simplification. Exempting some students, permitting more to use simplified need analysis, and streamlining reapplication are steps in the right…

This paper examines federal requirements which promote parent involvement in day care, particularly in services for children under 3 years of age. The rationale for parent participation in poverty programs for children is discussed from three perspectives--political, economic, and socio-psychological--and Project Head Start's application of this…

The monograph presents preliminary results from 27 states that received systems change model demonstration funds from the U.S. Rehabilitation Services Administration in 1986 and 1987. These funds were targeted to modify existing adult day programs for persons with severe disabilities and provide supported employment programs as alternative…

Informational, diagnostic, prescriptive functions of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are best served by governance structure composed of federal, state, and local members and a standing technical advisory board. Structure protects NAEP from undue federal influence and special interest groups, builds bridges to educators and…

Federal education policy preferences of the Reagan Administration include both procedural and substantive elements. The overarching procedural policy is devolution--the transfer of the authority and responsibility for education policy and program development from the federal to state and local levels. Federal activities intended to advance…

Needs assessment is part of the decision making and program planning process in mental health centers. Four commonly used approaches for identifying needs are: (1) social indicators; (2) analysis of resources and patterns of use; (3) community surveys; and (4) group approaches. Rarely does a single approach provide all the information necessary to…

A study analyzed the policies of 20 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries pertaining to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Aims of the study were to assess the current role of SMEs as generators and users of innovations, to analyze the components of a favorable climate for innovation in SMEs, and to…

This four-part report deals with minimal competency testing with a focus on test development and the federal role in competency testing. The first section presents highlights of a 1978 conference on "Achievement Testing and Basic Skills" chaired by Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Joseph Califano. The second section contains the…

A study analyzed the role of state governments in implementing federal education and job training policies and in designing and implementing their own policies. A framework was developed for understanding policy instruments used to promote education and training objectives: mandates, inducements, capacity-building, and system-changing. Each type…

This book contains papers first presented at the September 1976 Symposium on the Federal Interest in Financing Schooling. Participants responded to three questions. First, given what we know about federal goals in education, how appropriate are the areas in which federal involvement is currently concentrated? Second, how effective are existing…

The National Council on Vocational Education believes that the new Vocational Education Act should focus on the development of the human capital that is essential to any efforts to revitalize our nation's productivity. This will require program improvement for training and retraining in new high-technology occupations, access to programs by…

A shrinkage of one-half or more in available federal funds designated for human services is expected to occur in the next five years. Despite this outlook, federal funds are available for increases in human services, provided that such services are organized into related systems of services and are planned and managed as such. This essay on…