In its third year of funding, Project VITAL (Volunteers In Training Act and Learn) was designed to provide literacy training to 500 librarians, coordinators, and volunteers working in literacy programs. Through the techniques of improvisational theater, structured scenarios were enacted dealing with illiteracy, women's concerns of domestic…

The NASA-Industry Education Initiative (NIEI) is the response of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and its private-sector contractors to the education crisis. Findings from the initial survey show that support for NIEI appears to be strong among the organizations surveyed and there is a significant level of cooperation…

Pioneering Partners for Educational Technology was created to enhance learning in kindergarten through grade 12 by accelerating the use of educational technology. The program spotlights 24 project teams from Great Lakes states that are already using technology in creative ways in the following states: (1) Illinois; (2) Indiana; (3) Michigan; (4)…

As a preliminary step in identifying changes occurring in vocational education after the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act, a study gathered information on the status of vocational schools in school year (SY) 1991 and changes reported in SY 1992. Surveys assessed the status of program quality, collected information on estimated…

This instrument was developed to assist individuals or teams to review best practice indicators regarding the development of inclusive school communities and to establish priority targets for improvement. The instrument covers three areas: (1) school community issues, (2) team issues, and (3) classroom issues. For each area, there is a review…

This report was prepared to provide information on school evaluation practices to the education community and the general public. It is intended to assist individuals in selecting school evaluation models that assess the dimensions and components of a school that are considered most relevant and most related to school improvement. Work on the…

This study reports the results of 3 years of implementation of a Partnership Academy, a restructuring model for at-risk high school students at J. Sterling Morton East High School in Cicero, Illinois. Based on the California model, the partnership academy is distinguished by four features: a multi-year, school-within-a-school structure from 10th…

This report provides information from graduates of selected occupational programs regarding the effectiveness of their Illinois community college experience. The study surveyed a pool of 2,190 occupational program graduates, which yielded a usable response rate of 58.6%. The majority of graduate respondents (64.5%) came from programs in four…

Claiming that observation is the first and most authentic tool for assessing young children's learning and development, this book advises educators of young children how to improve observation skills by recording children's growth and development. The book also serves as a tool to evaluate and improve early childhood programs. Specific benefits of…

Live broadcast television lessons in the four subjects: Japanese, Maori, Spanish, and Technology, were broadcast from the New Zealand Correspondence School via Satellite and Sky television to selected schools around the country during 1996. The trial project ran from April to November, 1996, involving 86 schools, including primary, intermediate,…

As the case study of one particular Home Instruction Program for the Preschool Youngster (HIPPY) project, this study is designed to allow others to reflect on their own program experiences. HIPPY was developed in 1969 by the National Council of Jewish Women's Research Institute for Innovation in Education at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem…

The Second Step program has been evaluated through formative evaluations of the curriculum versions before publication and outcome evaluations of the published versions. One outcome evaluation assessed student aggression and positive social behavior in students from 12 schools in Washington state in grades 1 through 3. It is concluded that the…

This document presents the results of a meeting of undergraduate biology departments that receive funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The focus of this meeting was the assessment of science pathways. Discussion focused on assessment, predictors of student success in science, the importance of undergraduate research, career choices,…

Dilemmas emerged in the evaluation of a school improvement project that required evaluators to confront merging varied and often conflicting perspectives, sources of data, understandings of their roles as evaluators, the eventual use of the data, and the purpose of the educational reform effort. Selected examples are presented from the evaluation…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Utah Education Network, a closed circuit television delivery system used by the University of Utah in providing preservice education in rural regions. The audience of the system was graduate special education students. Interactive telecourses, video recordings, and instructors were involved. Two groups…