A federal committee has found that there is almost no evidence to judge whether the more than $3-billion the federal government spends annually to improve science and mathematics education is effective. The committee's report calls for greater assessment and coordination of such programs. The committee, known as the Academic Competitiveness…

This article discusses the Federal Migrant Education Program as implemented in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The program is relatively small as federal programs go--its budget for the current fiscal year was $386.5 million. According to the No Child Left Behind Act, the term "migratory child" means a child who is, or whose parent or…

The investigation of New York State's attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, into the questionable practices of lenders in federal student-loan programs has helped raise public awareness of one of the greatest scams in our government: The Federal Family Education Loan program, otherwise known as the guaranteed-student-loan program, is unnecessarily…

This volume presents briefing papers presented at the 12th annual National Indian Education Association (NIEA) Summit. The following papers are included: (1) 2009 Budget and Past Funding Levels for Native Education; (2) NIEA Appropriations Priorities for FY 2009 and FY 2010; (3) American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; (4) National Indian…

The "28th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2006" follows the 2005--i.e., the 27th annual report--in sequence. The "28th Annual Report to Congress" has two volumes. Volume 1 presents a picture of how children and students are being served under the law nationwide…

Although the number of high-needs schools that are failing to achieve "Adequate Yearly Progress" (AYP) steadily increases, some are successfully increasing student achievement, staff productivity and collegiality. The purpose of this study was to use a three-round Delphi process to obtain the expert opinions of 10 administrators who…

This paper examines labor market conditions and public employment policies in the United States during what some are calling the Great Recession. We document the dramatic labor market changes that rapidly unfolded when the rate of gross domestic product growth turned negative, from the end of 2007 through early 2009. The paper reviews the…

Since the first child care Quality Rating System (QRS) was implemented in Oklahoma 11 years ago (in 1998), 16 additional statewide systems have been launched and numerous states are piloting or developing a QRS (Zaslow, Tout, & Martinez-Beck, forthcoming). As QRS stakeholders across the nation look ahead to the next decade, it is important to take…

State and local governments spend billions of dollars annually on the construction, renovation, and maintenance of public school facilities, yet concerns persist about the condition of some school facilities, particularly in school districts serving students residing on Indian lands. The Department of Education's (Education) Impact Aid Program…

The research problem for this qualitative study was "Effective response to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) by school leadership is critical to public school success or failure in Indiana. Because high schools have been the first and most-often to 'fail' under NCLB, knowing principals' concerns and the leadership and implementation of strategies…

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the use of interim assessments and the policy supports that promote their use to change instruction, focusing on elementary school mathematics. The authors use the term "interim assessments" to refer to assessments that: a) evaluate student knowledge and skills, typically within a…

During their three-year research project, the authors found that most practitioners, researchers, and policymakers in the education field were not familiar with Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) or the existing research on IDAs. Therefore, in this paper the authors compiled a list of some of the references that they found useful and that they…

Because of their comprehensive approach, Head Start programs can stimulate new linkages with a variety of service providers. This book contains both abstracts and detailed interagency agreements between Head Start program staff in the Department of Health and Human Services, and federal, state, and local programs. Interagency agreements in the…

Testimony from a hearing on the Reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act is presented in this document. Comments and a prepared statement by Representative Matthew G. Martinez open the document. Testimony from Representatives Harris W. Fawell and Dale E. Kildee is also included. Testimony and/or prepared statements…

This booklet is intended for readers who are interested in applying to the U. S. Department of Education for discretionary grants and cooperative agreements, who have received an award, or who are simply interested in knowing more about the Department's discretionary-grants process. It describes how discretionary grants and cooperative-agreement…