Pursuant to the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 and in accordance with Program Memorandum 2 issued by Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education, the State of Hawaii is submitting a transition plan under Option 3 to extend the current Multi-Year Plan. The plan discussed in this report takes into…

This report examines North Carolina's Charlotte-Mecklenburg public school system (CMS) and assesses its failures and achievements. Though the proportion of students who chose CMS over private and charter schools has decreased from 95 percent in the 1970s, it still remains over 80 percent. Enrollment for exceptional, and poor children and children…

This report examines the outcomes of the John M. McKay Scholarships Program, a statewide voucher program for students with disabilities in Florida that provides students with taxpayer-funded vouchers to be used at private schools or at other public schools. It argues that the McKay voucher program, which started in 1999, is rife with…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) established 2 flexibility demonstration programs--State- and Local-Flex--that allow up to 7 states and 80 school districts to redirect up to 100 percent of certain NCLBA programs funds. The General Accounting Office (GAO) was asked to determine factors that affect states' and districts' decisions about whether…

This book demonstrates how classroom teachers can use cooperative learning techniques for lesson planning and classroom management. It emphasizes that cooperation among students is powerful, and it notes that just because students are in a group does not mean that they are cooperating. Part 1, "Getting Started with Cooperative Learning," includes…

Inspired by the gains in student achievement realized by the small schools movement in New York City, the Oakland Unified School District (California) has proposed creating a network of 10 new, small autonomous (NSA) schools over the next 3 years. School size will range between 250 and 500 students, depending on grade level. "Autonomous"…

Taking effect in Fall 2002, the No Child Left Behind legislation will help to enable a high-quality education for every child in America, regardless of income, ability, or background. The legislation gives states more flexibility on how they spend their education dollars, and in return, requires them to set standards for student achievement and to…

These papers reflect the impact that early childhood teachers have on their students when they "stand in front of the classroom" and the effect their performance and characteristics have on children. After "Introduction: Factors that Impact Teacher Quality" (Olivia N. Saracho and Bernard Spodek), 11 papers include: (1)…

As the amount of resources allocated to out-of-school (OST) programming and policymakers' demands for research-based results increase, there is increasing interest in rigorous research designs to examine OST program outcomes. This issue of "Out-of-School Time Evaluation Snapshots" reviews 27 quasi-experimental and experimental OST…

This reports presents interview findings with education policymakers on various aspects of educational research. The sampling contained the following groups: superintendents and other local education officials; chief state school officers; state higher education executive officers; state legislators; governors' educational policy advisors;…

The forum on partnerships to improve teaching the arts was an outgrowth of earlier gatherings and of research to identify and respond to current challenges to sustain and enhance quality arts teaching. During 1999 the Arts Education Partnership convened a task force which concluded that improved teaching hinges on collaborations among three key…

Noting that the disappointing findings of the first-year evaluation of the 21st-Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) after-school program were offered as a rationale for a requested decrease in funding in President Bush's fiscal year 2004 education budget, this report compiles expert commentary on methodological issues in that evaluation…

This document is a review of the literature on educational accountability and the presentation of a model of accountability developed by the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE). Current literature is reviewed in terms of definitions, relationships to past educational reform movements, and critical issues that…

While reformers have taken many steps in recent years to raise student achievement, and have enacted higher standards, introduced new instructional strategies, and sought out stronger teachers, it is increasingly clear to business leaders that the public education system is not going to respond sufficiently to reformers without incentives to…

This document highlights the National Education 2001 Summit (held in Palisades, Ne York, October 9-10, 2001) in which government, business, and education leaders considered ways to raise standards and achievement in U.S. schools, offering state teaching, testing, and accountability activities, data on progress since 1966, and public supports for…