As additional funding and new legislation increase our focus on literacy, we should consider the findings of a study by the National Staff Development Council and the National Education Association on what works. The study reviews programs that have demonstrated improvements in student learning, and issues key findings for every grade level.

This article describes a school improvement initiative involving five primary schools (ages 5-11 years) working in partnership with each other with support from a university department of education. It provides evidence of the benefits to be gained from teachers sharing and developing collective knowledge through participation in school-based…

Grade retention has been the de facto policy for children with academic difficulties in many Latin American countries [Schiefelbein, E., & Wolff, L. (1992). "Repetition and inadequate achievement in Latin America's primary schools: a review of magnitudes, causes, relationships, and strategies." Washington, DC: World Bank.]. In Costa…

The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) is pleased to release its sixth annual report on the "Enhancing Education Through Technology" (EETT) program, a component of the No Child Left Behind, Title II, Part D (NCLB IID) Act. The purposes of the NCLB IID program are to: (1) improve academic achievement through…

The Technology Immersion Pilot (TIP), created by the Texas Legislature in 2003, was based on the assumption that the use of technology in Texas public schools could be achieved more effectively by "immersing" schools in technology rather than by introducing technology resources, such as hardware, software, digital content, and educator…

Even Start is a family support program focusing on family literacy and school readiness. These first seven issues of the "Look at Even Start" newsletter cover topics such as transition between preschool and kindergarten, collaboration between programs and between parents and programs, ways Even Start programs respond to parents' needs…

To provide transition opportunities for adult education students while preparing them for their General Educational Development (GED) test, Austin Community College (ACC) developed a program called GED Plus. A variety of information sources, including orientation sessions, brochures, telephone inquiries, and site visits to partner agencies, were…

This paper describes a list of quality indicators for adult education programs. The list was developed after consideration of background materials and input from four focus groups. The list is divided into two main areas: student outcomes and program process and content. Within each area, the primary indicators (those identified by at least three…

The Title VII Newcomers Program of the Austin (Texas) Independent School District served 104 students in its second year of operation. The program was designed to improve the English language proficiency and academic skills of limited-English-proficient (LEP), immigrant students in 3 high schools. Most were native Spanish speakers. Major findings…

The amount of time students spend in classrooms is relatively short--"13% of the student's waking hours in the first 18 years of life" (Walberg, Paschal, and Weinstein, 1985). They are developing intellectually, socially, and emotionally all the time, and parents are their models and teachers most of the time. This report describes and…

In 1991, a project studied implementation of the American Society for Training and Development's Workplace Basics model. Field testing was conducted in two Virginia industries: Corning Incorporated in Waynesboro and American Safety Razor (ASR) in Verona. Corning had fewer than 100 employees and an 85 percent female work force; it had shifted from…

A study was conducted to determine parents' perceptions of a kindergarten program in the face of change toward a holistic language/literacy curriculum. The participants were the parents of 25 children enrolled in an all day kindergarten class of a university-based child development center. Nine of the parents (all mothers) volunteered to be…

This report contains case studies from six countries on local efforts to ease the transition of youth from school to work and to stop or prevent them from regressing to semiliteracy or illiteracy. The countries studied are Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, Yugoslavia, and Zimbabwe. A short summary of each of…

In 1983 the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs received a grant to increase Indian participation in Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs at community colleges in Hoke, Scotland, Halifax, and Warren counties. There were 135 Indian adults recruited in the 4 counties--68% female and 32% male. Ages ranged from 18 and younger (6%) to over 60…

How New Jersey schools are actually using computers and incorporating the technology into their curricula is the subject of this report. Following an introductory statement in chapter 1, chapter 2 explains several important issues and concepts related to computer use in schools. Chapter 3 describes the educational uses of computers in New Jersey's…