This booklet focuses on independent colleges and universities known as "minority institutions" that have served historically underrepresented groups and have provided a major route to successful jobs, careers, and professions for a significant proportion of minority youth. Following an introduction, the first of two sections asks "What is a…

This report, which is based on the work of the Perinatal Substance Exposure Think Tanks, establishes priorities for statewide services in California to young children who are prenatally exposed to alcohol and drugs. Although the report focuses on the developmental needs of children, it also examines efforts to provide prevention and treatment…

This report presents findings of the National Academy of Education Panel on the Evaluation of the Trial State Assessment (TSA) concerning the 1990 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics TSA program. The Panel's recommendations regarding the continuation of TSAs for review by the Congress, states, and Executive Branch of the…

Assessments should improve performance by providing usable feedback, and should not merely audit it. Problems with educational accountability policies stem from a flawed view of student assessment. Intellectual excellence cannot be obtained via one-time mandated tests composed of proxies for real challenges. Common standards should be developed…

This book provides an overview and status report on the progress made in developing the National Research and Education Network (NREN) as of early 1991. It reports on a number of investigations that provide a research and policy perspective on the NREN and computer-mediated communication (CMC), and brings together key source documents that have…

The purpose of this hearing was to get a sense of the larger picture of what educational television is currently doing, what the alternative modes for educational television are, the merits of the programming that is currently available, what the documented educational impact in schools that have used educational TV has been, the types of policy…

Since the enactment of the Adult Education Act (AEA) in the 1960s, the Federal Government has played a major role in leadership and policy direction for literacy education for adults. Federal programs and policies established under the Adult Education Act have influenced who provides services, who receives them, the instructional components of…

This declaration by the Caucus on the Needs of the Youngest Americans discusses ways in which the federal government can meet the needs of young children and their families. The declaration calls for the federal government to insure that all services for children and families are coordinated and comprehensive; insure that every young child…

This report presents an interim analysis by an independent commission of current moves to reform Chapter 1 of the Hawkins/Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Amendments of 1988. Chapter 1 is the largest federal assistance program to elementary school and secondary school education. The report responds to questions on strengthening…

This book takes a case-based approach to ethical reflection of concern to special educators and other education professionals. After an introductory chapter, Chapter 2 is devoted to philosophical concerns surrounding the nature of moral philosophy and ethical deliberation. "Principle-based" and "virtue-based" moral theories are contrasted, and the…

The Maine Department of Education conducted a survey in the spring of 1992 to determine the level of AIDS/HIV education in the State's schools. This report, consisting largely of statistical tables, reflects data collected from 561 respondents (91 percent) of high schools, combination junior and senior high schools, combination secondary and…

With a national goal announced as "ending welfare as we know it," it is necessary to discuss questions regarding targeting, sanctions and incentives, service delivery, and success criteria for adult literacy programs that attempt to train low-literate adults for jobs. At present, there are about 14-15 million recipients of Aid to Families with…

This paper on identifying education outcomes for students with disabilities proposes a framework for applying an outcome-based approach throughout the education system, by looking at the needs of the three major levels of the system (local, state, and national); defining different uses for the term "outcome" in order to achieve consensus…

This policy brief presents excerpts from an article by Judith Warren Little that addresses the problem of the "fit" between current state and local reforms and prevailing approaches to professional development. The brief addresses first five major themes of reform and their implications for teaching. These themes are: reforms in subject…

In December 1993, a Syracuse University (New York) School of Information Studies team conducted seminars with two groups of Internet users interested in the availability of federal government information over the Internet. Respondents were 76 participants at a conference on government sources on the Internet and 86 middle and senior managers from…