Selected characteristics and conditions of MiraCosta Adult High School Diploma Program graduates were investigated. Data were gathered from 129 respondents by a 35-item mailed questionnaire. Questions pertained to graduates' current status, analysis of their high school experience, and recommendations for improving the adult high school diploma…

A pilot program was designed to provide opportunities for a group of high-risk parents to improve their parenting. Specifically, the program provided a center in which teenage mothers could meet, share child-rearing problems, observe their children being cared for by trained personnel, interact with their children, and have opportunities for…

A variety of issues and problems in family day care are surveyed in two brief papers. The first paper notes that the majority of children under the age of 2 years, who are currently being cared for outside the home, are being cared for in family day care settings. One of the attractions of this kind of care is its relatively low cost compared to…

The summative evaluation of student teachers allows decision makers (college and school district supervisors, State Boards of Education) to make judgments about the student teacher's qualifications for teacher certification. In addition, district personnel officers use this type of evaluation in making decisions about hiring prospective teachers.…

One of the exciting and sometimes frustrating elements of participating in the field of outdoor wilderness education and recreation involves not only the issue of ensuring that practicing professionals function with competence, safety and prudence, but that they have knowledge and skills gained from many disciplines and a variety of life…

Administrator compensation in North Carolina schools has traditionally been based on experience and preparation, independent of the level of performance. The development plan adopted addresses this issue by recommending five levels of differentiation for each administrator job classification. A person may stay in one classification for an entire…

Affirmative action programs in U.S. medical schools have facilitated the entry and graduation of ethnic minority students. The number of Black physicians has doubled over the past decade. There have been even greater proportional increases in the number of Mexican-American, mainland Puerto Rican and Native American physicians. There is some…

In response to the increasing need of rural public schools for teachers who can function in more than one teaching area, Arkansas College initiated a program for students to become certified in both special education and elementary education. Through this dual, 4-year program, the employment prospects of students are increased, the needs of area…

A study involving 29 teachers and 21 teacher educators was conducted to determine whether differences occur between the two groups on a cut-score study of the National Teacher Examination (NTE) Professional Knowledge Test. The 50 professionals were the judges for a validation and cut-score study prior to implementing use of the NTE for initial…

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) requires that an institution keeps abreast of emerging evaluation techniques and engages in systematic efforts to evaluate the quality of its graduates. This empirical study illustrates how statistical analyses of data obtained from the inception of the "Alabama Initial…

In 1983 and 1984, a number of reports were issued that criticized the status of schools, primarily high schools. These reports gave impetus to widespread efforts to improve education. This paper presents an analysis of the content and impact of the reform reports, reviewing earlier reform efforts, assessing the primary ways in which the reports…

Early National Teacher Examinations test-appraisal studies focused only on the extent to which the content covered on a test matched the content of teacher education curricula. Recently, there has been a shift in emphasis from adequacy-of-preparation, which is now seen by many as irrelevant to establishing the appropriateness of a teacher…

A content validity study of the National Teacher Examination (NTE) was conducted by Educational Testing Service for the Mississippi State Board of Education. Its purposes were: (1) to assess the NTE's appropriateness as a measure of knowledge acquired through teacher preparation programs and required as a qualification to teach in Mississippi; and…

In the El Paso, Texas, area (a binational community with a growing Mexican American population), bilingual programs operate in almost every public school and the need for certified bilingual teachers is increasing. As of 1981-82, 424 teachers had received bilingual certification based on teaching experience rather than organized university…

The document begins by outlining and discussing the issues of English proficiency for graduation and the amount of time needed for appropriate instruction to meet that proficiency level. The history of bilingual instruction in the state and the student population affected by the requirements are described. The requirements for students entering…