New York State Tech-Prep is a joint-secondary-higher-education program with the objective of providing students with rigorous technical and academic skills. Currently 30 Tech-Prep consortia operate across the state. In 1996, the state commissioned an evaluation of its Tech-Prep programs. This report summarizes information from the first study that…

In recent years there has been a substantial change in the way education is structured, managed, and financed in Australia. The move toward more self-managing schools, with school councils, school charters, school global budgets, quality assurance, and other features has been especially apparent in the state of Victoria, where the Schools of the…

A baseline study of Arizona public school counselors ascertained the amount of time they spent individually with students and the nature of the counseling provided; it also measured their opinions and attitudes toward school-to-work (STW). Surveys were mailed to every Arizona high school and junior high/middle school, a random sample of elementary…

The National Consortium on Inclusive Schooling Practices (1996) developed a framework to analyze state and local policies and their effects on school inclusion. The framework focuses on standards-based systemic reform across six major policy areas: curriculum, student assessment, accountability, personnel development and professional training,…

This report summarizes trends and needs in higher education. The first section considers the value of higher education and provides data showing that a college education is more valuable today than ever, and that higher education is not given a high enough priority when state and national budget decisions are made. Positive changes that have been…

This brief summarizes data from a 1994-95 survey of the states on special education expenditures in the U.S. and analyzes other extant cost data that adjust for inflation and consider rising special education enrollments. The study estimates that the 1995-96 national expenditure for special education was about $32.6 billion (compared to $19.3…

As part of the statewide Illinois Articulation Initiative, a panel was formed in October 1993 to develop a model articulated nursing curriculum and minimum nursing competencies. This report presents the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the panel. Following a brief introduction, the history of articulation efforts and policies in…

This report describes the activities of the Manitoba Universities Grants Commission, which was established in 1967 to advise the provincial minister of education on the amount of financial assistance which should be provided to Manitoba universities by the government. The commission is also responsible for allocating these funds to the…

This paper discusses the nature and availability of early childhood care and education in Illinois and advances recommendations to improve the current system. It argues that current multiple federal, state, and local funding streams, with different eligibility requirements and administrations, divide families and programs into artificial and…

This report is the beginning of a series that will examine the performance of the school children of New Jersey relative to the performance of other children in the United States and worldwide. The measure of performance used was the 1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics examinations and their linked versions of the…

The second-year impacts of Texas' Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program for early participants were analyzed. A quasi-experimental study design was used to analyze data about 13,396 JOBS participants and 13,303 comparison group members. The analysis focused on the labor market outcomes of JOBS participants and their exits from and…

The Louisiana Program Plan for the Administration of Vocational Education calls for assessing the state's progress in meeting the sex equity purposes of the Carl Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act and evaluating the effectiveness of programs and activities supported by the need for sex equity. Criteria for selecting sex equity…

This technical assistance paper is designed to help local adult education administrators and teachers in Florida as they implement changes in the Adult English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Program Curriculum Framework, which provides the state with a minimum set of standards to be used by all facilities delivering ESOL citizenship…

Under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), participating states and jurisdictions must provide services to children who are either experiencing developmental delays, or who have a diagnosed condition that carries with it a high risk of developmental delay. Eligibility criteria used by the states influence the numbers…

This issue of WIN (Welfare Information Network) Issue Notes focuses on the tendency of children from low-income families to drop out of high school, become teen parents, become involved in drug-related activities, and become involved in other activities that place them at high risk of long-term welfare dependency. Section 1 offers the background.…