This book on evaluating social programs is an outcome of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Evaluation Design Project, which produced a set of 10 guides for the evaluation of state and local JTPA programs. This book distills ideas from these guides and applies them to a larger context. Part 1 presents a general approach to program evaluation…

The 23 articles in this theme issue focus on various aspects of library services to business in an information economy: "Serving Business in an Information Economy" (C. Bain); "New York's Resurging Economy and State Economic Development Information" (R. G. Paolino); "Department of Economic Development Library: Services to…

This digest summarizes the results of the latest annual survey of state teacher testing programs. State directors of teacher testing programs were contacted in the summer of 1989 and asked to update the data compiled by the American Institutes for Research in 1988. Data indicate that: (1) states commonly use admission tests for applicants to…

The South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) measures 16 basic skills objectives as mandated by legislation enacted in 1978. The BSAP Reading and Mathematics Tests were administered April 17 through 21, 1989. The tests for grades 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8 consisted of 6 multiple-choice questions for each of the 11 objectives in reading and…

The MAT-6 Writing Test (The Psychological Corporation, 1986) was administered to Oklahoma students in grades 7 and 10 in February 1989, in compliance with state law. The inception, implementation procedures, assessment instruments, and results of the Writing Assessment Component of the Oklahoma School Testing Program are described. District-level…

Tennessee initiated a Career Ladder Program for teachers in July 1984. The program is designed to recruit, retain, and reward outstanding teachers. Teachers who obtain upper career ladder status receive financial rewards ranging from 2,000 to 7,000 dollars per year. This status is achieved by participation in a comprehensive evaluation process.…

This report contains the California state plan for educating homeless children and youth required by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987. The plan is designed to raise the level of awareness of schools and school districts to the needs of homeless children and to provide ideas and suggestions for meeting those needs. It is…

This document reports on the progress of various vocational education initiatives in Texas during 1981-85 and outlines some of the steps to be taken in the future. The report first describes the need for educational planning, especially in light of world events, and outlines a master plan for vocational education from kindergarten through…

In December 1993, children who were in grade 3 in the Trenton Public Schools (New Jersey) in 1985-86 will take a high-risk writing proficiency test to determine whether they will graduate from high school. An emerging study of the writing of the Class of 1995 in Trenton is described as students move toward that test. The activity of studying…

The California Plan for Career-Vocational Education (CVE) was created to lay the groundwork for the reform, revitalization, and redirection of CVE in California. Part One of the plan established the unifying mission for CVE in California and identified issues and goals for program implementation. The purpose of Part Two is to identify strategies…

Background information is provided about the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) reading test, a test developed to meet the objectives specified by the State Board of Education in 1986. The revised test measures reading in a more interactive manner than did previous tests. The rationale of the test is presented, the revised reading…

The Writing-Aid and Author's Helper (WANDAH) computer writing system, funded by the Utah State Office of Education Productivity Program, was used successfully in the Logan High School in the 1984-85 school year. Seven additional project were funded to replicate the Logan project throughout Utah during 1985-86. The main objective of the projects…

High school administrators in sparsely populated rural areas are showing great interest in interactive satellite instruction as a way to resolve teacher shortages and meet rigorous state graduation requirements. Televised classes permitting live teacher/student interaction via satellite communication systems and regular telephone lines provide…

This study examined the consistency of classification for a sample of special needs students on the state-mandated Massachusetts Basic Skills Inventory (BSI). The study sample consisted of 172 special education students (114 males and 58 females) from 15 elementary schools in a large urban school district in Massachusetts, who took the…

The Maine Department of Educational and Cultural Services (DECS) received funding under the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 to develop a state plan for assuring access to a free and appropriate education for homeless children and youth. A second-year grant was to be made to DECS upon submission of a state plan to the U.S.…