A literature review of 132 studies of School-to-Work programs and consultations with the staff of the National School-to-Work Office, researchers, and practitioners in the field drew conclusions about the effectiveness of the School-to-Work initiative. Some of the study's conclusions were the following: (1) School-to-Work students maintain good…

The Assessment Tools for Adult Education project was designed to provide training and support to staff of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) funded programs to help them use assessment tools and procedures to document the learning gains of the adult students they serve. The following candidate assessment…

The public sector in Finland faces tasks and challenges in promoting science, technology, and innovations in conditions of global change. Sustainable economic, social, and cultural development will continue to demand comprehensive development of the innovation system based on solid cooperation between the public and private sectors in the country.…

Higher literacy needs and global communication technologies such as the Internet require that students worldwide develop academic level mastery of international languages. However, while school and university second language programs are frequently able to help students achieve mastery of the basic interpersonal communications skill level of a…

State leaders are using complex accountability systems, composed of standards, assessments, public reporting, rewards, and sanctions, to raise student, school, and district achievement. The public strongly supports making academic standards more challenging, despite a lack of consensus on content and outcomes. Some states may revise standards…

The Enterprise Florida Jobs and Education Partnership has taken actions to resolve issues raised in a previous report. The legislature has expanded the partnership's work force development (WFD) role; assigned it a role in implementing the state's welfare-to-work program; and established additional incentive funding for WFD program outcomes. The…

This report examines the extent to which Job Corps improves literacy and numeracy skills. Chapter I provides an overview of Job Corps and discusses key policy issues related to basic skills and study objectives. Chapter II addresses study design issues, interview response rates, and analytic methods used to estimate program impacts on literacy…

Implementation of the High Schools That Work (HSTW) key practices improved achievement for career-bound students in these four ways: (1) HSTW sites showed significant improvement in average reading and math scores; (2) the percentage of career- bound students meeting HSTW performance goals in 1994 and 1996 increased from 33% to 43% in reading and…

The academic achievement of students in business and marketing programs at High Schools That Work (HSTW) sites in 1996 was compared to performance levels in 1994. Between 1994 and 1996, the average reading scores of business students at HSTW sites increased from 271 to 279, and their average mathematics scores increased from 286 to 290. A higher…

This publication presents case studies of two sites--one with and one without a history of involvement in Workplace English Language and Literacy (WELL)-funded training programs. Case study 1, "Partnership, Flexibility, and Experience: Key Elements in Successful Training" (Jenny McGuirk), investigates a food processing company in New South Wales…

The impact of California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKS), which was passed to increase California welfare recipients' participation in welfare-to-work (WTW) activities, was examined. The impact study consisted of a nonexperimental program evaluation that used statistical models to estimate causal effects and a simulation…

California's Employment Training Panel Program (ETP), the largest state-funded customized training program for incumbent workers in the nation, has had a positive impact on the economy of California, and its success has policy implications for other state programs. The impact of ETP on trainees includes the following: they are more attached to the…

In 2001, the Pennsylvania Department of Education contracted with Western Michigan University to evaluate Pennsylvania's charter schools and charter school initiative over two years. The study used site visits, work sample review, document review, focus groups, portfolios and surveys to gather data regarding the movement's effectiveness, progress,…

Evaluation was part of the planning process for a Western 4-H Institute, an intensive, multi-state training for relatively new extension staff with 4-H responsibilities. Training content was diverse, but it focused on enhancing agents' professionalism and strengthening the 4-H club program. The evaluation measured training impacts on participants…

In the context of the reauthorization of the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant, research data about the benefits of resulting programs were synthesized and recommendations were made for changes to current law based on the research. Some of the research findings were that those who leave welfare are not earning…