The College Outcomes Evaluation Program, a New Jersey assessment plan, is intended to serve as an official blueprint for improving state higher education. It outlines specific goals for gauging quality but gives institutions leeway to carry them out. (MLW)

Results from 1977 and 1982 national surveys of all state-licensed, state-contracted, or state-operated facilities demonstrate a residential population of static total size but changing characteristics. Most notable were a decreasing number of children in out-of-home residential care and an increasing proportion of persons who are…

The supposed gulf between curriculum development as it is practiced, and curriculum theory, may be an imaginary one, this article suggests. Textbook curriculum axioms are used to analyze Mississippi's Accountability and Instructional Management program, and it is found to be consistent with the theory taught in college classrooms. (DCS)

The study examined the relationship between direct clinical services provided to persons who are mentally retarded/developmentally disabled in 338 group homes and program and occupant characteristics. Findings suggest that group homes differ significantly in on-site service provision. (Author/CL)

Problems encountered during the implementation of a statewide educational accountability plan in Mississippi are typical of those reported in the literature. This article reviews the development of the plan, the direction of implementation process has taken, and proposals for the future. (PGD)

Describes the Florida Community College Brain Bowl, as a model for recognizing outstanding academic achievement, in a contest in which two competing community college teams answer faculty-prepared questions from various disciplines. (DMM)

Discusses ways in which the legal bases for child welfare systems can be reformed, in terms of the current methods by which cases enter the child welfare system, and ways that placement is decided and individual cases are moved through the system. (CMG)

Discusses the situation in Florida where districts must report the results of program evaluations made by the state department of education and gives suggestions for the way in which these scores should be made public. (IRT)

Reviewed are medical and educational procedures in the evaluation of a child with a learning disorder in the state of Mississippi. (IM)

State legislatures have demanded hard figures on what their dollars are producing in the schools. Today, 43 states have some sort of assessment program. (Author/MLF)

This directory contains 355 discretionary projects addressing the early childhood provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that received funds in 2004. It was compiled from 4 volumes separately published by the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY). The Research to Practice Division of…

The excellence goal of the Closing the Gaps by 2015 plan developed for higher education in Texas is hard to define and quantify clearly. However, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and institutional representatives have developed a starting point to reassess areas of national recognition required to meet the goal. The excellence goal…

A new teacher appraisal process involving 5 competencies and 163 indicators has been devised by the Provincial Government of Ontario, Canada. Principals are being held responsible for the appraisals, and the competencies and indicators are being imposed on professional practice. This paper suggests that a better approach to professional growth…

This paper focuses on the challenges that states face as they implement the accountability provisions of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, particularly those related to the identification and assistance of schools in need of improvement. Studies are underway that examine the implementation of some NCLB sanctions, such as the supplemental…

This report presents findings from case studies conducted during the 2003-04 school year, the second year that the supplemental services provisions of NCLB had been in effect. It follows up on baseline data collected the previous school year. This study conducted interviews in a purposive sample of six states and nine school districts, which were…