This brief provides an overview of the implementation and impact of near peer mentoring programs in Alaska and Idaho from the standpoint of both existing research and the near peers themselves. While progress is being monitored as part of state College Access Challenge Grant (CACG) program implementation and activity, only limited data on the…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for K-12 English language arts/literacy and mathematics, released in 2010, have been adopted by 49 states and territories; the District of Columbia; and the U.S. Department of Defense schools, which serve the children of U.S. service members around the world. The widespread adoption of the CCSS is a major…

To remain internationally competitive, states needed clearer, higher, and comparable K-12 learning standards aligned with college and career expectations, and as ambitious as those of the countries that lead the world in education. Idaho's old academic standards were not preparing students for postsecondary education, which contributed to the…

The Idaho State Department of Education (SDE) recently revised its SLD identification policy to include a requirement to document a student's response to intervention coupled with a comprehensive evaluation. To implement this policy, the SDE is using multiple implementation drivers. In this article, we describe how and why the new policy was…

Response to intervention (RTI) is a framework for providing interventions and services at increasing levels of intensity until students succeed. The framework helps teachers and schools provide instruction and interventions matched to student needs, monitor progress frequently to guide decisions about changes in instruction or goals, and apply…

A study used 1999-2000 data from Accelerated Reader and STAR Reading to assess students' reading practice, growth in reading performance, and effects of Reading Renaissance training on students' reading development. The study included 10 schools that participated in the 1998-99 study and 27 additional schools. Data from 7876 students enrolled in…

In 1998, as part of a major 3-year Reading Initiative, the Albertson Foundation provided $24.5 million to improve the reading performance of all Idaho elementary, middle, and junior high students. The reading components of School Renaissance (SR), a comprehensive school improvement program, include Accelerated Reader (AR) learning information…

An evaluation was made of programs conducted under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act and the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) in Idaho during fiscal years 1993 and 1994. Data gained from the administering agencies and providers by way of reports, interviews, group conferences, and records were used as evidence of the…

In order to assess the effectiveness of the Career Education Incentive Act (CEIA) of 1977, data were collected from a review of eight states' fiscal 1980 and 1981 annual reports as well as from a study conducted by the American Institutes for Research. According to these data, CEIA monies have indeed been allotted and matched as prescribed by the…

In Chapter Five, Alisa Belzer, Cassandra Drennon and Cristine Smith provide an overview of the challenges facing state-level professional development systems. The authors begin the chapter with a brief history of professional development in adult basic education, noting shifts in the funding and priority of professional development in the field.…

This annual report on vocational-technical education in Idaho is organized around five goals for the system that are part of a 5-year strategic plan. The report highlights exemplary programs, support groups, and student organizations that provide high quality educational experiences to the students they serve. The following goal-directed…

This document presents a model for career development programs to equip Idaho adults with personal competencies to make appropriate and satisfying career choices and transitions. This model is intended for colleges of applied technology in Idaho's postsecondary vocational-technical educational system. Part I is the program model, which includes…

The Council of Chief State School Officers has raised some issues pertinent to the implementation of a national project to collect statistical indicators of academic achievement and to compare them across states. The United States Department of Education shares this concern, with an emphasis on sampling schools for a school level analysis which…

This handbook has been developed through an interdisciplinary approach so that it can be used for any cooperative education program that might be proposed or in existence in the State of Idaho. The handbook was written to serve as a guide for those schools and districts that are considering using such a plan. The handbook, a program management…

The progress of vocational education during the first 2 years (program years 1991-1992) of funding from the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 1990 in Idaho was assessed. Research was conducted using data from the measures and standards established by the state and from a variety of other sources including…