Describes the process used to evaluate the writing across the curriculum (WAC) program in the Minnesota Community College System, focusing on evaluation components (i.e., workshop surveys, faculty and student surveys, faculty interviews, student compositions, and subject experiments). Considers programmatic and evaluation coordination. Reviews…

Presents excerpts from selected state-of-the-art reports on initiatives for educational technology that were received from individual states in response to a request from the yearbook editors. The 16 states represented are California, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North…

This article describes available benefits and work incentives affecting supported employment placement for students with severe disabilities, including payment for necessary supports (state programs and the Department of Labor), protection of benefits (Social Security programs), and incentives to employers (the Targeted Job Tax Credits program and…

This article presents tables showing statistics on selected indicators of change between June 30, 1990, and June 30, 2000, in the areas of residential services (large public residential facilities populations, all residential service recipients, and persons in settings of 6 or fewer), Medicaid long-term care program participation, and service…

Reports on an ongoing evaluation of the Vermont portfolio assessment program. Indicates that the positive news about the instructional effects of the assessment program are in contrast with the empirical findings about the quality of the data the program has yielded. (SLD)

We offer a concise history of teacher retirement plans in the United States, highlighting the increase in the generosity of the plans over the past 25 years. We employ data from plans in all fifty states to estimate the impact of a set of social and economic variables on the plans' replacement rates for a hypothetical teacher. We find that, at the…

To provide quality services to the hard of hearing student population, vocational rehabilitation (VR) and postsecondary staff must understand the diverse and significant needs of these consumers and assist them in making appropriate "informed choices" to become successfully employed in careers commensurate with their capabilities and interests.…

Test developers are responsible to define how test scores should be interpreted and used. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) directed the Secretary of Education to use results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to confirm the proficiency scores from state developed tests. There are two sets of federal definitions…

The Team Nutrition (TN) e-Newsletter is published periodically to share TN resources developed by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and/or by State agencies, and to share ideas for promoting healthy eating and physical activity through Team Nutrition at the State and local levels. This issue includes: (1) Materials Developed by…

This article provides a synopsis of how articulation agreements serve postsecondary education institutions and their constituents, provides an overview on the types of agreements, and discusses some of the issues associated with development of these agreements. The following questions frame the narrative: As community colleges grew in number and…

In 1996, the US Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, changing the culture of welfare from a system of dependency to one of personal responsibility and economic self-sufficiency through workplace participation. Through the expert views of case managers and area employers of Wisconsin, this research…

E-portfolios are a rich, flexible tool for teaching, learning, and assessment. They provide institutions with a way to assess how well they are educating their students. However, it is important for institutions to know why e-portfolios are important learning and assessment tool for institutions both now and for the future. Higher education…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of a federally funded 3-year project in Delaware to improve programming and instructional/vocational opportunities available to students with deaf-blindness. The project expanded the capacity of the state-funded program for the deaf-blind to provide technical assistance and training for…

This report presents patterns and trends in the annual caseload of the Washington State Division of Developmental Disabilities for both Residential Habilitation Centers (RHC) and community programs from the period 1989 through 1994. Following an executive summary, individual chapters present extensive detail on: (1) the project's background and…

This report discusses the findings from two case studies of state use of discretionary funds under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part B. The two states involved in the study were Michigan and Wisconsin. Documents and interviews were used to gather detailed descriptive information from both states regarding: (1) the…