This investigation developed, tested, and prototyped a Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) that would assist decision makers in identifying schools that may have been misclassified by existing Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) methods. This prototype was then used to evaluate Louisiana elementary schools using published school data for Academic Year 2004. …

The mission of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) is to provide leadership to achieve full integration and participation in society of people with disabilities and to ensure equal opportunities in, access to, and excellence in education, employment and community living. In implementing this mission, OSERS…

The proposed federal stimulus package could help to strengthen existing programs with track records of proven performance and strong accountability and administrative systems. This is good news for afterschool programs leaders who can leverage existing relationships and sustainability plans to access new funding opportunities. In these times, a…

Constituting one-third of all U.S. institutions of higher education, emerging research institutions (ERIs) are crucial to sustaining the nation's technological competitiveness through innovation and workforce development. Many, however, are not fully engaged in sustained sponsored research. This book summarizes the discussions at a workshop…

In his presidential address Jess Gilbert examines two democratic experiments of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) during the New Deal: first, county planning that coordinated federal programs through citizen committees, and second, land redistribution to landless southern farmers, including a small number of black sharecroppers…

There is always room for improvement in the delivery of health services. This article discusses the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) Health Care Innovations Exchange (www.innovations.ahrq.gov), a comprehensive program that aims to increase awareness of innovative strategies to meet health service delivery challenges and…

Access to scholarly information in the disciplines of education and medicine occurred primarily through the simultaneous development of two bibliographic databases. The Education Resource Information Center (ERIC) originated as a resource designed to be comprehensive in its inclusion of peer-reviewed and unpublished literature for the entire…

The Obama administration, along with many others, has placed a high priority on accelerating the nation's transition to a cleaner, greener economy. Transforming the nation's economic, energy, and environmental systems to become more sustainable will require a level of expertise, innovation, and cooperation unseen since the 1940s war effort. Public…

Rehabilitation counseling has played a significant role in the public rehabilitation program since its inception. Rehabilitation educators have also been critical in this partnership. This article reviews current trends in the relationships between public rehabilitation agencies, university programs, accreditation bodies, and others to discuss…

The physical, social, and economic health and well-being of adults and society are strongly influenced by experiences in early childhood. The most cost-efficient time to build foundational skills, to assure the healthy development of all young children, to break the cycle of disadvantage for vulnerable children, and to prevent achievement and…

For over 20 years, Advocates for Children of New Jersey has published the Newark Kids Count Data Book, a one-stop source for child well-being data on the state's largest city. Newark Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: demographics, family economic security, food insecurity, child…

In this poster presentation, the authors examine the impact of Chicago School Readiness Project (CSRP) on students' academic achievement in elementary school. First, they provide upper- and lower-bound estimates of the impact of CSRP on students' academic achievement, taking into account their subsequent nonrandom selection into higher versus…

Through its commodity program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides commodity foods at no cost to schools taking part in the national school meals programs. Commodities include raw ground beef, cheese, poultry, and fresh produce. Like federal food safety agencies, the commodity program has taken steps designed to reduce microbial…

Whether referred to as "pay-for-performance" (PFP) or "merit pay," attempting to tie educators' compensation to their performance in the classroom and students' performance on high-stakes tests has been a key component of many educator compensation reform efforts in the last five years. This issue looks at PFP systems broadly…

In late 2010, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah commissioned a new Agency-wide Education Strategy to ensure that USAID's global education investments would be informed by recent Presidential policy guidance; grounded in the most current evidence-based analysis of educational effectiveness; and aimed at…