Examines ways to encourage and implement public education for excellence. Reviews current trends and social problems and the history of public education, government mandates, volunteer efforts, and mixed initiatives such as privatizing all or part of a school system and cooperative arrangements among public agencies that serve children. (JB)

Describes two state-mandated programs for institutional accountability in New Jersey (i.e., Basic Skills Assessment Program and College Outcomes Evaluation Program), which function through cooperation between the state's higher education agency and its colleges and universities. Highlights research objectives, procedures, responsibilities,…

Discusses the role of non-public school libraries, especially Catholic school libraries, in New York State's School Library System. The interlibrary loan networks which have been established are described, and benefits to participating libraries are discussed that include professional development as well as cooperative collection development. (LRW)

Considers the potential of alternative route preparation and teacher certification programs for meeting the needs of urban schools by examining the Provisional Teacher Program in New Jersey and the experiences of 75 elementary school teachers, 24 secondary school English teachers, and 30 secondary school mathematics teachers over 4 years. (SLD)

Reviews the implementation of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) and explores its effects on higher education. The law, largely silent about higher education, does mandate a professional standards board for teacher certification, and there are implications for teacher education. Efforts at the University of Louisville to meet KERA challenges…

This case study uses six interviews with administrators and three speeches to trace the definition of the term "at risk" in Arizona educational policy, where the definition process was used as an opportunity to enhance the prestige and power of the State Department of Education. (SLD)

Outlines the development of the New Hampshire Community Technical College System (NHCTCS), including its transfer program, noncredit continuing-education courses, and community services. States that under the current proactive leadership, NHCTCS is poised to expand and intensify its mission to provide economic and community development for all New…

Highlights specific questions, concerns, and challenges faced by educators, parents, and students concerning assessment, accountability, accommodations, and alternate assessment. Examples of state assessment-accommodation policies are provided and reasons for providing test accommodations, requirements of Individualized Education Programs,…

Explores issues of whose work is actually being evaluated when raters outside the classroom context make judgments about students based on work composed with the support of peers, teachers, and parents. Data from an evaluation of a statewide assessment and a study of scoring elementary school writing portfolios illustrate the issues. (SLD)

Describes the development, current status, and future goals and plans of library and information networks in Ohio. Highlights include OCLC; OhioLINK, incorporating state-assisted universities, two-year colleges, the state library, and private university libraries; a school library network; a public library information network; a telecommunications…

Presents an overview of past, present, and future activities involving automation and networking in Oklahoma libraries. Topics include a library technology network concerned with equitable library service; a union list of CD-ROM library holdings; telecommunications infrastructure; telephone charges and Internet access; upgrades of rural library…

The Montana Behavioral Initiative (MBI) is a staff development program created to stem school violence. Program components include summer institutes, site teams, ongoing technical assistance, interagency cooperation, program evaluation, information dissemination, and governance by the MBI council. MBI has expanded to include nearly 100 Montana…

This article identifies problems associated with excluding the scores of students with disabilities who need nonapproved accommodations and explores ways in which these scores can be included in system and student accountability systems. The need for Individualized Education Program teams to establish guidelines and establish a documentation…

A study that examined state Individualized Education Program (IEP) forms found that out of the 41 with IEP forms, only 5 specifically addressed educational standards on their forms. Thirty-one states addressed the general curriculum on their IEP forms and 30 states listed three or more options for assessment participation. (Contains nine…

The Freedom to Learn (FTL) program is a statewide initiative coordinated by the Michigan Department of Education and Ferris State University in Big Rapids. Now beginning its third year, the program targets underperforming middle schools in 100 of the state's 500 districts. More than 23,000 students and 1,500 teachers have been issued HP nx9010…