This report documents survey results in three areas concerning Wisconsin public schools: data on the physical structure and mechanical features of the school building; data on school safety issues; and information on the educational appropriateness and suitability of the school buildings. Appendices provide the school facility survey; and lists of…

To get a valid picture of program impact via comprehensive data collection, combined with a focus on standards, an evaluation of a professional development program for elementary and secondary level teachers of science was carried out at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. This paper presents selected examples from the program evaluation, designed…

A multi-case study was used in the self-study of three programs within an academic department of a mid-sized Southern university. Multi-case methodology as a form of self-study encourages a process of self-renewal and programmatic change as it defines an active stakeholder role. The participants in the three case studies were university faculty…

While student mobility is not a "cause" of low academic achievement, it is one of the correlates of academic performance that should be regarded as a potentially significant factor in shaping students' academic performance. In this document, the Urban Schools Initiative of the Ohio Department of Education makes several recommendations to…

Unless questions about student performance and student retention can be answered and unless educators are proactive in finding and publicizing such information, basic writing programs cannot determine if what they are doing is working. Hard data, especially from underrepresented groups, is needed to support these programs. At Arizona State…

The Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) is an integrated set of surveys that has been conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in 1987-88, 1990-91, and 1993-94. In each of those school years, the Census Bureau also conducted a reinterview of the administrators, schools, and teachers. This report…

This document contains two papers related to the 1993-94 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). The first paper documents some of the problems that were encountered during student sample selection and the methods used to resolve those problems. It also provides some suggestions to alleviate some of the problems in future SASS studies. Significant…

This report and policy brief synthesizes findings from five reports on the experiences of low-income parents, child care providers, and state child care systems in Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Texas, and Washington. In recent years, there has been increased national funding for child care but deteriorating economic conditions that could jeopardize…

Reading Recovery (RR), a one-on-one short-term intervention program for first-grade children at risk for literacy failure, targets the lowest 20% of a first-grade classroom. Currently, program guidelines specify that the kindergarten teacher recommend a list of children to be tested for the program. All recommended children are administered an…

This volume, one in a series of three monographs, is a guidebook to evaluating campus diversity initiatives. Chapter 1 introduces campus diversity initiatives. Chapter 2, "Evaluation and Diversity," explores the need for assessment of such initiatives. Chapter 3, "Designing a Campus Diversity Evaluation," presents general concepts and guidelines…

This brief paper describes automated language activity monitoring (LAM), an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) methodology for the collection, editing, and analysis of language data in structured or natural situations with people who have severe communication disorders. The LAM function records each language event (letters, words,…

This brief paper reports on an evaluation of 10 community rehabilitation providers, six that successfully closed a facility-based program between 1989 and 1994, and four who are currently involved in a change process. Data collection consisted of participant observation, in-depth interviews, and document analysis. Findings indicated: (1)…

The passage of the Children First Act in 1988 ushered in a new era of data collection, analysis, and reporting about the overall quality and condition of education in Louisiana. Implemented in 1990, this major piece of legislation resulted in the publication of the Progress Profiles (School Report Cards, District Composite Report, and the…

Up to six years of data (the current year and the five previous years where available) are presented in the District Composite Report. Each year, this report is updated by adding the most current year's data and deleting the data that are more than six years old. Incorporating longitudinal data in the District Composite Report enables policy…

Up to six years of data (the current year and the five previous yearswhere available) are presented in the District Composite Report. Each year, this report is updated by adding the most current year?s data and deleting the data that are more than six years old. Incorporating longitudinal data in the District Composite Report enables policy makers…