This brief examines the disparity in resources available to children in different types of families and different parts of the country, using data from the 1997 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF), which collected data from about 44,000 households in 1997. Economic well-being among children varies substantially, according to the NSAF,…

This report presents information about the state of higher education in Illinois. Higher education entered the year 2000 with a full agenda and ended it as the top-rated system of higher education in a new national report card, "Measuring Up 2000" (National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education). Illinois received "A's in…

This paper analyzes the approaches that states can take to address the needs of families facing the loss of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits due to time limits. Ways in which these approaches can be funded with state or federal welfare funds are discussed. The paper examines how states can use federal TANF or state…

The community of child care providers in New Hampshire has adopted the Early Childhood Professional Development System as an initial step toward assuring quality care and education for children. This guide describes the components of that system and is presented in eight sections. Section 1 of the guide introduces the system based on a set of two…

The missions and strategic plans of Iowa's Regent universities are structured to provide high-quality education, research, and outreach services throughout the state. Numerous partnerships and cooperative efforts have evolved to benefit the work of the universities and the needs of Iowans. This book provides an overview of some of these…

Noting that reports by the National Research Council and the National Reading Panel show that children learn to read best if they are first provided with an understanding that sounds heard in spoken words correspond to letters seen in print, this issue of the "State Education Leader" newsletter explains that once this skill is acquired,…

To help facilitate focused and deliberate action, this report contains a current baseline assessment of the condition of research at colleges and universities in Virginia. The report brings together key sets of national data on research into one convenient place. It also provide a collection of many of the primary indicators used to assess how…

This report presents information about the state of higher education in Illinois. In November 2000, the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education issued the first National Report Card that gave Illinois an overall grade-point-average of 88.8, the best in the United States. Nevertheless, the state could not rest on its laurels, and…

This paper describes the Partnerships for Student Success study, which will not evaluate programs or polices, but will seek to identify and examine the aspects of inter-level governance and related state policies that contribute to, or detract from, effective and coherent connections between schools and colleges. Partnerships for Student Success…

This study focused on how school district leaders in Connecticut are translating educational reform policies into instructional practice. It explored how school improvement initiatives were being implemented to improve student performance on the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) and examined the ways in which these initiatives were…

The Montana Certification Program offers librarians, library staff members, and trustees a systematic and progressive method by which to track their continuing education (CE) efforts; the program also offers library boards and managers an opportunity to recognize staff efforts to improve their skills, ability, and knowledge. This first section of…

In September 1984, the New Jersey Board of Education launched the Provisional Teacher Program, the first alternative teacher certification program in the United States. The program, or the "alternate route," came from a reform process initiated after a commission created by the legislature concluded that New Jersey's teacher preparation…

This report represents one component of a project to examine how recently or whether enacted federal education reforms, put into place through the reauthorization of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Improving America's Schools Act of 1994), are being implemented in high poverty schools. The first part of the report…

The Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) is charged with improving library services throughout the state to ensure that all citizens have access to quality library and information services. Part of this charge includes the responsibility for receiving and administering federal funds to the more than 200 public libraries in Alabama. Federal…

This report responds to a Minnesota legislative requirement that required the Commissioner, with the advice of the Medical Education and Research Costs (MERC) Advisory Committee, to "develop a system to recognize those teaching programs which serve higher numbers or high proportions of public program recipients and...report to the legislative…