In 1991-92, over 50,000 surveys were administered to high school students, elementary school and secondary school teachers and administrators, elementary school students' parents, and graduates from the Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD). Parent responses are not published in this report, which discusses the following parameters:…

There is a growing consensus among educators that a major reason why traditional curriculum approaches have failed is that they are not based on knowledge of what is age-appropriate or individually appropriate for young children. This book provides practitioners with a practical framework for making curriculum effective and responsive for children…

A project developed a model multicultural curriculum for teaching students of English as a Second Language as well as students at a 6-8 grade reading level whose first language is English. The project proposed to bring together adults from at least four ethnic groups in a South Philadelphia neighborhood for the purpose of studying each other's…

A needs assessment was conducted to determine the needs of the Seattle (Washington) community for child care for African-American children. There were 40,194 licensed child-care slots in King County, Seattle's county, in 1990, but it was estimated that 75,000 children needed child-care services. Almost half probably needed child-care subsidies,…

This speech reports on data collected by the Early Intervention Collaborative Study (EICS), which is a longitudinal study following the development of 190 young children with disabilities (and their families) who entered 29 publicly funded early intervention programs in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the period from 1985 to 1987. The…

The report describes the development and implementation of Literacy Is For Everyone (LIFE), an English-as-a-Second-Language literacy program for limited-English-speaking immigrant families of students at Falls Church High School (Virginia). Participating families attended evening classes, groups, and workshops to develop literacy skills and become…

This report describes participation, student characteristics, and achievement for 10 high school courses assessed by the North Carolina End-of-Course Testing Program in 1990-91. Subject areas are: (1) Algebra I; (2) Geometry; (3) Algebra II; (4) Economic, Legal, and Political Systems in Action (ELP); (5) U.S. History; (6) English I; (7) Physical…

The primary goal of this practicum was to improve the mathematical thinking skills of preschool students in a class of 30. The practicum was also intended to help the teacher improve her skills as organizer and facilitator. Additional objectives were that: (1) students would score at least 50 percent on teacher-made tasks; (2) there would be no…

This paper describes three studies that evaluated the Marvelous Me-Preschool Edition curriculum, a 12-session program designed to enhance the self-concept of preschool children. The program is organized around 6 central themes: feelings, self-image, getting to know oneself, family friends, and community. Children participate in activities such as…

This document reports findings of eight Virginia adult educators who designed and conducted research projects within their programs. Abstracts and bibliographies appear first. "Why Tutors Do What They Do" (Karen Cook, Jean Dooley, Charles Fuller) examines responses of volunteer literacy tutors to questions about their expectations and…

This report describes the activities and accomplishments of second year off its current contract with the U.S. second year of its current contract with the United States Department of Education. The mission of the MRC is to provide training and technical assistance to educators and parents of limited English Proficient (LEP) students, with the…

This booklet focuses on understanding authentic learning and assessment practices and their effect on students and teachers at the middle level. After an examination of what is meant by authentic learning, five guidelines are suggested for use in selecting authentic content for middle level students. Specifically, authentic materials: (1) should…

Parent involvement in their children's schooling declines dramatically as students move through middle school and high school, though students still want and need their parents' help to reach educational goals. This newsletter presents several articles on partnerships between schools and families and between families and community programs. The…

This is the second of four working papers on dissemination policies, commissioned in 1993 by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement. It is intended to stimulate discussion and the exchange of insights on the government's role in empowering educators to contribute to the evaluation of innovations they use to improve education.…

This document reports the findings of a process evaluation of the Saginaw, Michigan Early Childhood Education Preschool program for 4-year-olds at risk of academic failure. As of December, 1992, a total of 279 pupils were attending the program at 8 sites. The goal of the program is to enable 4-year-olds to develop school readiness skills. Program…