Thirty-two states now have some form of accountability legislation that requires the reporting of school and school system performance indicators. This study examined the Alabama State Report Card to determine whether its information is sufficient to inform the public, legislature, and the media about the achievement of each school and school…

These three brochures discuss important issues related to child welfare. The first, "Family Support: A New Approach to Child Well-Being," summarizes this philosophy of community service. Family support is defined and differentiated from traditional services; its advantages are outlined; and specific family support programs in…

This report examines California's child care system. California families with working parents are less likely to rely on center-based child care than are families nationwide. The supply of child care has not kept pace with the recent movement of families from welfare to work. Thousands of California children are without child care or adult…

This technical assistance paper is designed to provide local adult vocational education administrators and teachers in Florida with information to implement the Vocational Preparatory Instruction (VPI) programs more effectively and in compliance with the VPI curriculum frameworks. Developed by practitioners in the state of Florida, the curriculum…

A study analyzed the forces affecting improvement and implementation of international agricultural perspectives in secondary programs of agricultural science in Texas. A mail survey, based on force-field analysis, was used to determine the effect of 14 variables, including 3 that involved perceptions of the relevance, knowledge, and implementation…

A review of the growing population of students receiving special education services in Florida and the extent to which these students are included in statewide assessments concluded that participation has improved slightly but had not met its goals. The report begins by providing statistical information on the special education population and then…

This paper addresses problems with performance on open-ended (i.e., not multiple choice) test questions administered on paper for students accustomed to writing with computers. The first section summarizes the results of three studies that examined differences between computer and paper-and-pencil test results. The second section identifies three…

This paper: reviews research on beginning teacher induction programs, summarizing previous reviews of the topic; identifies various state- and local-level induction programs, analyzing best practices that exist today; makes recommendations based on the research and on best practice for state and local policy development and for program development…

This monograph reviews issues in research on the effects of using accommodations for students with disabilities who are included in educational assessments, particularly state and district assessments. Following an introductory overview, a section provides background on the need for good research on accommodations. The paper then defines commonly…

This annual report complies with the requirements of Tennessee's Public Education Governance Reform Act of 1984, which directs the State Board of Education and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to prepare a report on: (1) the extent of duplication in elementary-secondary and postsecondary education in Tennessee; (2) the extent to which…

Postsecondary Options (POS) or Dual Enrollment (DE) legislation has been enacted in 38 states to permit high school students to enroll simultaneously in high school and college courses. This study contributed to the policy discussion by exploring the parameters of policies on dual/concurrent enrollment in New Jersey and Ocean County College (a New…

The Southern Regional Initiative on Child Care (established by the Southern Institute on Children and Families) is guided by the Southern Regional Task Force on Child Care including representatives from 16 southern states and the District of Columbia. The initial charge from the Task Force was to develop a southern regional action plan to improve…

This report is the second in a series of biennial, state-by-state 50-state report cards. As in the earlier report, state higher education systems are evaluated, compared, and graded in five categories of performance: preparation, participation, affordability, completion, and benefits. All states are given an "incomplete" in the sixth category,…

This report describes initiatives and services of the Massachusetts Department of Education for academically advanced students. The first section summarizes the department's state initiatives implemented as a result of the state's Education Reform Act of 1993, such as grants to enhance district gifted and talented programs and Advanced Placement…

Since fiscal year (FY) 1997, states have used funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant to supplement other funds in efforts to provide more child care assistance. This report provides an overview of the rules governing the use of TANF funds for child care. The report also describes how states used TANF funds to…