In the midst of the current concern for system reform and effective services there is renewed attention to the effects of categorical funding as the predominant method of allocating resources for children and their families. This paper presents a historical view of categorical funding for services to children and families. It explores the policy…

This needs assessment survey is the update of one conducted in the Pacific region in 1992. Results were intended to help the Pacific Region Educational Laboratory make decisions about the educational needs of children in the Pacific region. Nine general educational areas, with 34 needs, were defined and presented in questionnaire form. The needs…

In the Northwest, as across the rest of the United States, the basic characteristics of the U.S. household are changing. In demographic and economic terms, the Northwest is at the forefront of changes predicted for the entire country in the coming century. Urbanization is occurring in a region that was once defined by the relationship of human…

Since the early 1980s, the New York State Board of Regents and the State Education Department have advanced a complex reform agenda centered around the development of curriculum and related standards. These reforms have considerable implications for the allocation and use of human resources within schooling systems. This paper reports on a series…

Public school funding in Florida differs from other states in a number of important ways. First, Florida has a highly equalized resource-distribution formula resulting in a high degree of interdistrict equity. Second, concerns for quality, while constant, have had to compete with the state's phenomenal growth. Third, the state exercises a much…

This document contains rank-ordered statistics for the 50 states and the District of Columbia for an array of topics relevant to public education. All state data are ranked beginning with the largest figure. The data in the rankings are the most recent actual or estimated data available from state departments of education. Tables in the first…

This study examined the association between financial difficulties of institutions of higher education and their organizational effectiveness with 334 colleges and universities. An investigation of this relationship was made using three variables: a decline in required financial resources, degree of organizational effectiveness, and a set of 12…

A seminar was held in Dakar (Senegal) to bring together African university presidents, vice-chancellors, rectors, and top-level administrators to discuss the following themes: policies and modalities of admissions, planning and allocation of resources, structures of postsecondary education, and new technologies and interuniversity cooperation.…

This report presents recommendations for a Unified Higher Education Budget for Alabama for fiscal year 1997-98. The Alabama Commission on Higher Education presents two sets of funding recommendations for all higher education for fiscal year 1997-98. The first is a statement of the Commission's estimate of basic financial requirements to provide…

This report attempts to assess the impact on affordable higher education in California of the state's "three strikes" law enacted early in 1994. The report estimates that, as written, the state would not only have to use all expected increased revenues but also find additional amounts to maintain the increased prison population. It…

A hearing was held on H.R. 4086, the Youth Development Block Grant of 1993, a bipartisan bill introduced by Representatives Constance A. Morella (Maryland) and Donald M. Payne (New Jersey). The purpose of the initiative was to expand community-based youth development programs for youth aged 6 to 19 years. The bill was supported by the National…

This newsletter discusses factors that shape federal education funding policies. It examines the size of the federal deficit and its progress, as well as the factors affecting the resources available for education. The 1993 interest on the federal debt is projected to be $314 billion and payments such as these have held down funding for student…

This report identifies a number of financing issues facing American higher education in the early 1990s, including: (1) the future federal role in postsecondary education in light of lagging participation rates of low-income and minority students and public concerns about many aspects of campus-based research; (2) the extent of state financial…

This synthesis includes various conceptions and definitions of multicultural education and outlines the implications of these definitions for practice. Definitions of multicultural education vary widely, with some relying on the cultural characteristics of diverse groups, and some emphasizing social, political, and economic factors. Most have in…

Context effects in test taking were explored, paying attention to the psychological processes that occur during test taking, and modeling context effects for each individual at the item block level. A sample of 279 high school students (140 females and 139 males) was chosen to yield adequate power for detecting interactions. Reading test forms…