This books contains papers written on issues related to externally mandated mathematics tests and their influence on school mathematics. Chapter 1 presents an overview of the book, including brief abstracts of each chapter. Chapter 2 presents a summary of the overall problems associated with the need for valid information. Remaining chapters…

This report offers a perspective on state supply and demand data collection efforts concerning special education personnel. The report includes: (1) an overview of federal data requirements; (2) national data on special education and related services personnel as reported in the U.S. Department of Education's "Fifteenth Annual Report to Congress…

Wisconsin has been exploring educational targets or outcomes since 1992 in conjunction with legislation mandating student assessment. While the establishment of outcomes does not necessarily indicate that a school subscribes to an outcome-based education (OBE) philosophy, the two could go together. OBE requires identification of outcomes prior to…

This paper explores the impact of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) of 1990 on the funding and allocation of resources to special education. Overall, the results indicate that the revenues generated for the special education system by KERA are approximately equal to marginal costs of special education services statewide. However, there is…

This document consists of a combination of volume 1 (Public Institutions) and volume 2 (Private Institutions) of an inventory of Alabama's higher education academic programs for 1991; it provides a list of all instructional programs offered in the state's four-year colleges and universities and approved by the Alabama Commission on Higher…

Federal legislation for infants and toddlers with handicapping conditions and their families (Part H of Public Law 99-457) calls for a statewide system of coordinated, comprehensive early intervention services. The legislation calls for an Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC) to be appointed by the Governor of each state, to participate in the…

This second annual report card on the status of Oregon public education describes the implementation of the Oregon Educational Act for the 21st Century. Information is presented in the following areas--school finance, staff characteristics and salaries, student demographics and achievement, student participation in programs and services, and…

This guide identifies sources of funding for purchasing assistive technology for people with disabilities. It outlines eligibility requirements, specifies which devices can be obtained from which sources of funding, and discusses how to effectively approach the funding process. It begins by defining assistive technology categories, describing the…

This document reports on the findings of the Fiscal Year (FY) 1992 evaluation of the Illinois Prekindergarten Program for Children At Risk of Academic Failure, initiated in 1985 through a statute authorizing the State Board of Education to implement and administer a grant program to public school districts to conduct preschool education programs…

As Mississippi approaches the 21st century and an increasingly more competitive business climate, the state faces a critical need for work force development and better adult basic education. According to 1990 data, Mississippi contributes only 8.5 percent of funding for adult education (the remaining 91.5 percent comes from federal sources) to…

This paper examines how school restructuring can be promoted by agencies outside the school. The first part posits a framework for designing and analyzing external strategies to promote school restructuring. This framework distinguishes between strategies that are: (1) intended to initiate versus support school restructuring; (2) comprehensive…

The New Jersey Council on Adult Education and Literacy was created in response to the literacy crisis. The council reached consensus that learning must be a lifelong process, families were teachers, and the workplace was also an educational arena. It established priorities and recommendations in three areas: family literacy, workplace literacy,…

Six papers discuss the Louisiana School Effectiveness and Assistance Pilot (SEAP) program, an ongoing 3-year research project associated with a legislatively mandated school and district accountability program. In three phases, the project joins school indicators, school effectiveness, and school improvement initiatives. The following papers are…

This report discusses the findings of a study that attempted to investigate the participation rates of students with disabilities in the Oregon statewide testing program. The study joined individual student data from the Oregon Statewide Assessment Program and the Oregon Special Education Child Count to examine participation rates. The report…

The purposes of this five-year Oregon State Library plan are: (1) to establish goals, priorities, objectives, and strategies for the development of library services within the state of Oregon; (2) to set forth methodologies to evaluate the success of the strategies in meeting the goals, priorities, and objectives; (3) to set policies and…