Recent years have produced a surge in interest in improving state assessment programs. Many states are designing new assessments. Much of this innovation is aimed at addressing longstanding areas of unhappiness with typical domain-sampled, end-of-year state assessments: States want to streamline assessment activities, enhance the instructional…

The Texas Education Code (§ 29.051) requires school districts to provide every language minority student with the opportunity to participate in either a bilingual or English as a second language (ESL) program. This evaluation report summarizes the performance of students who participated in the district's Dual Language Bilingual Program. Included…

The school and district report cards were created by the 1999 Oregon Legislature. The legislation requires that the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) produce and issue a report card to all public schools and districts in the state. The report cards are designed to: (1) Communicate the many good things occurring in Oregon's public schools; (2)…

The Early Assessment Program (EAP) has emerged as a national model for states seeking to design policies that increase the number of students who leave high school ready for college and careers. In addition, the two national consortia designing new assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards have recognized the EAP as a model for the…

The Oregon Statewide Report Card is an annual publication required by law (ORS 329.115), which reports on the state of public schools and their progress towards the goals of the Oregon Educational Act for the 21st Century. The purpose of the Oregon Report Card is to monitor trends among school districts and Oregon's progress toward achieving the…

The Council of Chief State School Officers' "Accommodations Manual: How to Select, Administer, and Evaluate the Use of Accommodations for Instruction and Assessment of Students with Disabilities" was first developed to establish guidelines for states to use for the selection, administration, and evaluation of accommodations for…

This document was prepared to support school districts in the process of implementing Oregon administrative regulations regarding gifted student education. Elements are listed that should be included in school district policies relating to the education of gifted students. A step-by-step program planning outline is suggested, from establishing a…

The study investigated the extent to which coordinating councils for vocational education are fulfilling the requirements of the Florida State Board of Education Regulation 6A-6.67, which mandates that "a coordinating council for vocational education, adult general education, and community instructional services shall be established in each…

The goal of the "Closing the Achievement Gap for 21st Century Learners in West Virginia (CAG)" report, 3rd edition, is to update West Virginia educators to the status and improvement of student achievement in West Virginia which may then be utilized as a basis for determining future educational decisions. In order to enhance the quality…

This document contains an executive summary of a study designed to: determine the status of early intervention (birth-to-3) programs for handicapped children in Illinois, to make recommendations for future planning, and develop training modules focused on the findings. It discusses the study's rationale, method, and design; estimates incidence…

This report provides formative-evaluation information about the processes followed by Florida's Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) to comply with national, state, and local governmental environmental regulations. Specifically, the report examines the effectiveness of the Environmental Compliance (EC) team, which monitors OCPS response to…

Kansas schools are currently accredited individually on the basis of annual reports to the State Department of Education and periodic visits of State Department personnel emphasizing primarily inputs to the educational program. Senate Bill 501 affords school systems the capability to be accredited as a total district on the basis of a five year…

These guidelines were developed to assist school districts in the state of Illinois to develop comprehensive health education programs for elementary and secondary schools. Time and scheduling guidelines directed by the State Superintendent of Education are outlined. The basic components of a comprehensive health education program, its curriculum,…

Colorado's Public School Finance Act of 1988 directed all public school districts to implement state goals for improving achievement, graduation, and attendance rates. Districts and individual schools were required to develop accountability committees involving parents, staff, students, and community members in planning and evaluating school and…

This report concerning the Louisiana social studies program begins with the process of analyzing and evaluating the current state of affairs in social studies education with a view toward reform. After the introduction, general sections follow to define social studies and to provide a historical and philosophical perspective on the social studies.…