This bulletin focuses on the connection between student performance and standards that has led to reform efforts designed to set high standards and develop new ways to measure student performance. It provides an overview of national, state, and local efforts to develop standards. The bulletin then discusses these practitioner-identified approaches…

In fall 1996, the British Columbia Ministry of Education, Skills and Training released a strategic plan calling for the development of block transfer agreements between institutions to eliminate the time-consuming process of course-by-course credit assessment. Currently, institutions conduct independent evaluations of elements of an incoming…

In Program Year 1994, Colorado divided its Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) funds among adult and youth job training programs, summer youth programs, dislocated worker programs, and the Governor's Special Initiatives. JTPA staffing levels decreased at the same rate as the declining budget. The programs became especially efficient at using…

The state of Maryland Interagency Committee on Public School Construction has attempted to improve minority business-enterprise participation in public-school construction projects funded through the state's Public School Construction Program. This report describes outcomes of the committee's efforts during fiscal year 1995. The first section…

Initial studies of school choice in Massachusetts have concentrated on the mechanics of the program, but this report examines why parents choose school choice. A survey of Massachusetts families participating in school choice was completed by 826 families (return rate of 41.8%), representing 987 choice students, or about 23.5% of the estimated…

This report summarizes proceedings and conclusions of a two-day national planning workshop to further the assessment of national postsecondary outcomes, as suggested by Goal 6.5 of the National Education Goals, and to determine how the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the states might work more effectively to develop…

This report includes directories of public libraries, single-county public library systems, multi-county public library systems, and multi-type library systems in Alabama. Cross references are included to provide access to the libraries by library name and librarian. Statistics on individual libraries for fiscal year 1995 provide data on service…

Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 (with its reauthorizations) is designed to help disadvantaged children meet challenging content and performance standards. Part A of Title I provides financial assistance through State educational agencies to local education agencies (LEAs) to meet the educational needs of…

This report provides an overview of the importance of State Chapter 1 funds to schools in the most impoverished neighborhoods of Chicago (Illinois), schools that serve the city's most disadvantaged children. It documents the central role of programs in Chicago schools paid for with these funds, underscoring the importance of finding ways to…

In 1991 Arizona embarked on a program to change schools and make them more accountable for educational achievement. The instrument of reform was an assessment program known as the Arizona Student Assessment Program (ASAP), the most notable feature of which was a performance assessment that was added to an already extensive battery of…

Ohio's state-operated/state-supported job training and work force development programs were reviewed in response to a legislative mandate calling for development of a plan for administrative consolidation of those programs under the control of a single state agency. The review included examination of the following: history of federal and Ohio job…

This report discusses the findings from two case studies of state use of discretionary funds under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part B. The two states involved in the study were Michigan and Wisconsin. Documents and interviews were used to gather detailed descriptive information from both states regarding: (1) the…

This report includes directories of public libraries, single-county public library systems, multi-county public library systems, and multi-type library systems in Alabama. Cross references are included to provide access to the libraries by library name and librarians. Statistics on individual libraries for fiscal year 1994 provide data on outlets…

In response to proposed reforms designed to replace many federal child welfare programs with block grants to states, this report describes a study of recent trends foster care, resources for foster care and child welfare services, and state responses to current foster care and child welfare service needs. The study reviewed research on foster care…

This annual report examines the implications, for the state of Michigan, of Part H of the 1986 Amendments to the U.S. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and discusses the planning, development, and demonstration activities related to the implementation of the required components of the law. This legislation provides states with funding to…