The state of Washington implemented the Readiness to Learn program as part of the state's Family Policy Initiative. The primary goal of the program is to serve as a formal link between education and human services by authorizing grants to local school-linked, community-based consortia to develop and implement strategies that ensure children arrive…

High public expectations of the educational and workforce development systems are the force behind the shifting roles of education and training and efforts to create more coherent and effective systems of work force preparation. The result of pulling and tugging by citizens, policymakers, and educators is a system of widespread access,…

During the 1990s, an increasing number of states have become interested in social indicators as basic tools of governance. Many states have been working aggressively to develop programs and initiatives that make systematic use of social indicators, and to develop the underlying data system to measure and track such indicators. This report reviews…

Beginning in Spring 1998, Virginia students participated in the Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments designed to test student knowledge of the content and skills specified in the state's standards. This document contains questions that students were required to answer as part of the SOL End-of-Course assessments. These questions are…

In North Carolina, Alternative Learning Programs (ALP) is a designation applied to a variety of activities, locations, and student characteristics. This report focuses on descriptive information about the state's ALP efforts, teachers, and the students they serve. Two hundred and fifteen schools and programs met the evaluation criteria as ALPs.…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of Idaho's 3-year program to enhance the quality of educational and community-based services for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with deaf-blindness. The project provided technical assistance to service providers including public and private agencies, institutions, and organizations…

With creative ideas contributed from Wisconsin youth services librarians, this manual is a practical guide for planning and implementing the state's 1999 summer library program. Dealing with the theme, "Go Global: Read!," this manual contains a broad spectrum of ideas--from solid information about varied cultures to playful fantasy tales…

In April 2002, Jeffrey Fouts (2002) presented a longitudinal study of student performance in Washington using Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) results from 1998 to 2001. Although constrained by the lack of individual student identification numbers at that time, he concluded that success on the WASL in the 4th grade was a strong…

A study investigated the relationship of scores in the Texas Academic Skills Program, a minimum competency test for college-bound students, and performance in freshman and sophomore courses, and uses for that information in setting course prerequisites. Data were drawn from 18 courses at one community college. Results showed existing course…

Federal and state educational indicator systems should include assessments of school context as well as of student outcomes. A review of the literature suggests that access to knowledge, pressure for achievement, and professional teaching conditions are the best general constructs to provide bases for school context indicators. (TJH)

This case study examines the perspectives and practice of elementary mathematics teaching of a second grade teacher (Cathy Swift) in a large, socioeconomically disadvantaged California community as she attempts to implement California's Mathematics Curriculum Framework. This teacher's beliefs/knowledge and policy influences often conflicted. (TJH)

This case study assesses the adoption of the California Mathematics Curriculum Framework by a second grade teacher. Although the teacher perceives herself as successfully implementing the curriculum, observation indicates that the innovations have been filtered through a very traditional approach. The result is a remarkable melange of novel and…

Despite increases in teacher education enrollments, urban schools continue to suffer from serious staffing vacancies, due in part to the shortage of prospective minority teachers. This article lists representative programs operating on Federal, state, higher education, and school district levels designed to recruit teachers for placement in urban…

Explains the development of an electronic information network in Maryland called Seymour that offers bibliographic records; full-text databases; community information databases; the ability to request information and materials; local, state, and federal information; and access to the Internet. Policy issues are addressed, including user fees and…

Describes the decision-making processes involved in the development of the ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA database, a statewide union catalog of school, public, academic, and special libraries' holdings on compact laserdisc. Highlights include the planning process; the role of retrospective conversion vendors; the nominal group technique; the role of task…