In the past few years, numerous states have initiated school improvement programs. These programs have included any or all of the following characteristics: (1) teacher and administrator certification and competency tests; (2) school-based planning; (3) staff development; (4) student assessment; (5) revised curricula and instructional strategies;…

Discusses the financial advantages of insuring school property through nonprofit state insurance programs, rather than through commercial insurance companies. Summarizes experiences with existing state insurance programs in the states of South Carolina, North Dakota, Alabama, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. (JG)

Section 20-2-250 of Georgia's Quality Basic Education (QBE) Act, passed in March, 1985, provides for three types of innovative activities: developmental projects, training center/dissemination projects, and adoption projects. This part of the Act is administered by the Georgia Department of Education under the Innovation Program. The activities…

A program designed to provide educational administrators with the skills and resources to become more effective in their jobs is described. The program, offered as an annual series of two statewide workshops, focuses on developing anticipatory and prescriptive management techniques. Participants are encouraged to conduct follow-up inservice…

This report examines the data processing services provided to Eugene (Oregon) School District 4J by the Oregon Total Information System (OTIS) and provides recommendations to the district administration to aid policy-making and planning in the area of computer services. The report focuses primarily on the use of the computer for management…

In 1988, the Education Commission of the States (ECS) undertook an 18-month effort to discover strategies that would increase the number of minority teachers in the nation's classrooms. Representatives from 22 education policy and research organizations formed the Alliance of Leaders for Minority Teachers to share views and information. In…

The creation of Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) was authorized in 1948 to function temporarily pending the creation of intermediate school districts. BOCES were viewed at their inception as a means to supplement teaching services and to provide a few nonacademic courses to school districts too small to provide their own. In…

Describes Maryland's community college research model, whereby State Board for Community Colleges staff work cooperatively with a voluntary statewide organization composed of institutional researchers from each college. Explains agenda setting, procedures, responsibilities, project monitoring, identification and dissemination of…

Describes two state-mandated programs for institutional accountability in New Jersey (i.e., Basic Skills Assessment Program and College Outcomes Evaluation Program), which function through cooperation between the state's higher education agency and its colleges and universities. Highlights research objectives, procedures, responsibilities,…

Outgrowths of Mississippi's Education Reform Act of 1982 include the development of more stringent standards for both school accreditation and teacher certification. Successful completion of staff development has become the basis for recertification of Mississippi teachers and administrators, and, beginning in the 1984-85 school year, districts…

This report describes the history and programs of the Wisconsin Education Opportunity Program (WEOP), a bureau within the State Department of Public Instruction that provides support services for Wisconsin youths and adults (particularly the disadvantaged) who intend to complete a postsecondary education program. Currently, it is said, WEOP…

The history of adult and community education in Michigan since 1862 can be divided into five major periods. In the first period, 1862-1930, adult and evening education was instituted by Henri A. Hobart in the Upper Peninsula and was extended by Frank Cody in Detroit. During the second period, the 1930s, Charles Stewart Mott and Frank J. Manly laid…

Highlighting vocational education philosophies and needs in individual school districts in Alaska, this position report of the current status of state vocational education programs was developed by the staff of Alaska's Division of Vocational and Adult Education in order to inform the State Board and the Alaskan Legislature of programmatic needs.…

Programs of school improvement based on characteristics of effective schools as identified by school effects researchers have proliferated in recent years. This paper describes major school improvement programs now underway throughout the United States: (1) programs organized and administered within schools and school districts in New York City;…

The work performed by New Jersey's Minimum Basic Skills Advisory Committee in studying the state's remedial programs is described. The committee's findings are summarized, as are its recommendations for enhancing program effectiveness. Descriptions of data collection activities involve interviews with representative school districts, major…