"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Striving Readers Act Introduced in the House: Act Mirrors Legislation Introduced in the Senate in March; (2) "Understanding…

Clearly defining what rural means has tangible implications for public policies and practices in education, from establishing resource needs to achieving the goals of No Child Left Behind in rural areas. The word "rural" has many meanings. It has been defined in reference to population density, geographic features, and level of economic…

This paper summarizes the main ideas that emerged during a two-day conference to discuss effective educational practices in mathematics for Native American students. Information is in drawn both from conference discussions and from author experiences studying and evaluating other mathematics education projects, organized into sections that…

The aim of this study is to introduce a goal programming based on a holistic approach for the evaluation of "early childhood development support project", which was applied in some cities in Turkey. Like in many other areas, statistical methods are widely used in research on pre-school education. According to the literature, very few…

After a year of public hearings and not-so-private debate, the National Commission on the Future of Higher Education last year proposed six sweeping recommendations to improve "the less than inspiring realities of postsecondary education" in the United States ("A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of U.S. Higher…

Educators across the United States continue to enable a wider and ethnically diverse proportion of students to achieve success in AP[R]. Significant inequities remain, however, which can result in traditionally underserved students not receiving the sort of AP (Advanced Placement) opportunities that can best prepare them for college success.…

The study examined an ESL writing class, which consisted of 36 students, at a community college of Hong Kong. The students took part in three online collaborative writing tasks by sending drafts to peers who gave them suggestions and comments for improvement and working together on the completion of the writing tasks via email. The 36 students…

E-learning has become a significant aspect of training and education in the worldwide information economy as an attempt to create and facilitate a competent global work force. "Cases on Successful E-Learning Practices in the Developed and Developing World: Methods for the Global Information Economy" provides eclectic accounts of case…

This manual familiarizes data users with the procedures followed for data collection and processing of the high school transcript component of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88). A second objective is to provide the necessary documentation for using the data files. Chapter 6 and appendix F, in particular, contain…

The collection of data by face-to-face interviews and questionnaires is common and literature in these areas is extensive; but few cases are reported in which respondents have been provided with a blank audio cassette tape, interview schedule, or open-ended questionnaire items, and been invited to record their own comments and forward these to the…

In response to a request from the Subcommittee on the District of Columbia of the House Committee on Appropriations, the efforts of the District of Columbia to reduce its overall personnel and personnel expenditures and several financial issues involving the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) were evaluated. Difficulties the District of…

Museum librarians occupy positions in a wide variety of organizations, including art galleries, colleges and universities, government agencies, and historical societies. This study investigated what qualifications and attributes employers wish entry-level museum librarians to possess as they begin their library careers. A questionnaire was mailed…

Assessment is broader in scope than testing. Typically, assessment includes gathering and integrating information about a client in a manner that promotes effective treatment. This digest discusses how counselors can use assessment as a continuous process throughout treatment. It also reviews three common forms of assessment techniques which can…

This report presents the results of an 1990-93 audit of the New York State University Construction Fund (SUCF) to assess the need for service efforts and accomplishments (SEA) indicators that address overall construction efficiency, economy, and effectiveness issues. The audit also assessed the reliability of SUCF's construction project data and…

A way to assess the large volume of student data generated in an introductory graduate-level course in qualitative research in education is described. Primary attention is given to assessing the technical aspects of field data collection, and only secondary attention is given to the consideration of the substantive aspects of the field data. In…