As part of the evaluation of the Strategic School Funding for Results (SSFR) project, American Institutes for Research (AIR) conducted surveys of principals, teachers, and members of School Site Councils (SSCs) to gather information on the attitudes and perspectives regarding the implementation of key components of the SSFR model in Twin Rivers…

In 2009 the Obama administration announced a focused commitment to turn around 5,000 of the United States' chronically lowest-performing public schools as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This commitment came with $3 billion in funding for the School Improvement Grant program, or SIG, along with new guidelines to ensure…

How did Washington create a clear organizational structure that assigns responsibility for each aspect of transfer policy to the group that is best suited to manage it (Kisker, Wagoner, and Cohen, 2011)? In this chapter, the authors will introduce the agencies, organizations, and entities that have played a key role in gathering information,…

A first stage evaluation of the Even Start Program of the Newark (New Jersey) public schools is presented. Even Start is an early childhood parental involvement program in its third year of implementation. Goals are to involve parents as active partners, to help children develop cognitively and affectively, and to improve adult literacy and…

This paper describes research conducted to evaluate a program designed to meet the needs of Asian Limited English Proficient (LEP) students in the School District of Philadelphia. The program was the result of a negotiated settlement in a lawsuit filed against the school district in 1985, which alleged that the district was failing to meet the…

This task force report addresses three questions fundamental to the reform of teacher preparation: (1) what do teachers need to know? (2) what academic, professional, and practical experiences should be provided? and (3) what are the most efficacious relationships between a Faculty of Education, other faculties and schools in the University, other…

The Chapter 1 program of the Educational Consolidation and Improvement Act would be made more efficient and effective by implementing the following recommendations: (1) improve the targeting of funds; (2) let good educational practice rather than accounting practice shape Chapter 1 programs; (3) establish systems of output accountability for…

Because of the increasingly diversified population and needs of adult students at the Alberta Vocational Centre, a more flexible and responsible learning environment was needed. A brief effort using PLATO hardware and Basic Skills courseware for grades 3-8, and then for high school equivalency programs, was successful. However, it would have been…

Community collaboration for improving career guidance is an attempt to obtain cooperation from local agencies, organizations, and volunteering individuals to provide assistance to citizens whose career needs are not being addressed. This monograph is designed to motivate and provide initial orientation for community leaders who want to develop…

This document, one of 12 guides that have been developed to facilitate evaluation by and for local education agency (LEA) personnel in Illinois, covers the evaluation of instructional materials, both print and audiovisual. The activity is presented in three parts. The first part is an inventory of instructional materials that are currently owned…

In the last two decades, the federal government's role in state and local affairs has shifted markedly from subsidy to regulation. This report examines the origins and effects of the new "regulatory federalism" and proposes reforms. Chapter 1 delineates the subject, chronicling the growth of intergovernmental regulation and discussing…

The Navy is finding it increasingly difficult to attract personnel with aptitude scores high enough to make them eligible for entry into Class "A" technical schools. Training courses were developed for low aptitude students that would increase their mastery of the prerequisite skills and knowledge (S/Ks) they would need for success in…

This final program performance report contains an eight-page narrative and supplementary materials from a competency-based vocational education (CBVE) staff development project. The narrative reports the project whose purpose was to promote curriculum-improvement activities as identified by teachers through a self-evaluation process with the end…

Although a growing body of research points to the critical need to foster reading, writing, speaking, and critical thinking skills for students in order to ensure their success in college, careers, and life, these efforts have tended to focus more on developing literacy skills in the early years, often ignoring secondary students. The outcome has…

This guide explores the key issues in the development, sustainability, and effectiveness of after-school programs including before school, weekends, and summers, and identifies federal strategies to promote effective programs. The first part of the booklet presents the core elements of an effective after-school program, noting that programs…