This report provides state-by-state information on the characteristics and performance of schools and students in each state, information useful for monitoring the progress and evaluating the success of education reforms. The report contains two-page profiles that report the same indicators for each state and the District of Columbia. The…

This project involved field testing and revising the "Standards for Professional Development Schools" (PDSs) and developing an assessment process for their use. Eighteen PDS partnerships participated. They provided information and feedback, developed self-studies, hosted team visits, worked on visiting teams, and volunteered in ongoing…

Selections in this book, which grew from a seminar at New York University between 1994 and 1996, discuss the recent educational innovations of charter schools, contracting arrangements, and choice that are designed to liberate educators and raise the levels of opportunity for all students. The essays, which focus on the urban experience, explore…

The results of a survey of 14 Minnesota school districts on the participation of students with disabilities in the Basic Standards Exams are examined in this report. Findings indicate that all 14 districts had at least 50 percent of all eligible students with disabilities participate in the April 1996 testing cycle. Ten districts indicated they…

This report discusses the results of two surveys that investigated the participation of students with limited English proficiency (LEP) in Minnesota's Basic Requirements Exams. In the first survey, 13 school districts answered questions about the participation of students with LEP in Minnesota's Basic Standards Tests. Ten of the districts reported…

The theme of this book is that the drive for quality in higher education in Britain and the concurrent moves to reform teaching and learning have not been connected organizationally or in practice. Drawing on the Quality in Higher Education research project, the book examines the variety of meanings of "quality" showing that a tension…

During the 1990s, policymakers have become increasingly attentive to the relationship between education and national economic health and society's need to upgrade and equalize workforce skills, talent, and wages. The U.S. education and training system is fragmented, decentralized, and in flux, as more responsibility moves from federal to state…

This paper discusses the increasingly corporatist mentality within higher education, focusing on the role of the government within Canada, and elsewhere, to reshape higher education into narrow occupational training. It notes that while governments in Canada and the United States have reduced public funding for higher education, they have pursued…

In March 1992, the New York State Office of the Comptroller performed an audit of Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) awards at the Simmons School, a private business school in White Plains, New York. TAP, the largest student grant and scholarship program administered by the Higher Education Services Corporation, is designed to provide tuition aid to…

This speech by Chancellor Thomas J. Nussbaum deals with the state of California Community Colleges. The document begins by noting successes in three main areas: restoring access, improving funding per student, and improving the performance of California's community colleges. Between fall 1995 and fall 1999, California's community colleges…

This collection of papers presents the most recent research on Title I federal compensatory education. Building on 35 years of research, development, and practical experience, the book presents evidence of various ways Title I can become a more effective program and instrument for school reform. The nine papers are: (1) "Title I: Its…

Senate Bill (SB) 1422 required the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing to review the requirements for earning and renewing teaching credentials. This report presents the results of the review. Part 1, "Overview of the Comprehensive Review of Teaching Credential Requirements," examines the purpose and structure of the review…

This paper asserts that the growth and maintenance of failed urban school districts that have miseducated minority children in poverty for over 50 years is a predictable, explainable phenomenon. The essay suggests that the extensive resources funneled into these systems are used for increasing district bureaucracies rather than improving…

This report describes a study of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), a reform effort tying academic achievement with district funding. The purpose of the study was to determine which variables best explained and predicted MCAS test scores (scores had been rising). One such variable was accountability. The report states the…

The schools that Head Start participants enter may have very different methods and attitudes than were present in Head Start, and a different approach to working with children and families. While Head Start programs are seldom in a position to bring about changes in the public schools, Head Start parents can be a powerful force for school change.…