This report presents information on Colorado's child care needs and on the services provided by the Colorado Office of Resource and Referral Agencies (COORA). The report presents a brief account of recent research on brain development and implications for child care providers. Recent findings indicate that only 6 percent of Colorado's licensed…

Whether differences in the standards states have set can be explained by something other than regional differences is explored. In addition, a way in which standards can be compared is defined, and the standard of proficiency that seems to be widely shared across the country is illustrated. The Trial State Assessment (TSA) data from the National…

This booklet is designed to assist schools or school systems in analyzing and evaluating student writing, writing instruction, and the writing program. The basic assumption is that improving the writing program needs to be a school-wide effort coordinated across K-12 grade levels, not an individual or isolated effort. After an overview and advice…

This document presents public testimony given at the town hall meeting held by California State Senator Teresa P. Hughes in Hawthorne, California in the state's 25th senatorial district on September 23, 1996. The meeting examined school safety programs that had been successful. A panel of elected officials, policy makers, researchers, and…

Several technical issues related to the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) were studied. The 1990-91 SASS is a set of four inter-related surveys of public and private elementary and secondary schools, districts, teachers, and administrators conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Preliminary analysis of the 1990-91 SASS…

The six sections of this brief provide the following information: (1) the types of public incentives available to employers for hiring and training of employees, including increasing economic activity and increasing labor market supply; (2) federally operated incentive programs (Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit, Work Opportunity Tax Credit, Employee…

Missouri is in the middle of the process of developing a performance-based assessment system, the Missouri Assessment Program, which is being developed to measure student progress toward the "Show-Me Standards" adopted by the State Board of Education in 1996. To achieve these standards, students must have a strong foundation of knowledge…

Recent declines in funding for contraceptive services have led to questions regarding the role of contraceptive services and social policy in shaping adolescent reproductive behavior. This 2-year study examined the impact of state-level policies on adolescent pregnancy and fertility. Data were obtained from a variety of sources, including the…

"Michigan's State Technology Plan (1998)" includes 21 Recommendations and 14 Belief Statements in categories ranging from incorporating technology into the curriculum and training teachers and other staff members to funding educational technology programs and establishing technical standards and a telecommunications infrastructure on…

This paper focuses on pre-kindergarten programs, defined by four characteristics: the programs are supported by state funds, focused on early learning for school success or school readiness, aimed at children of pre-kindergarten age (under 5 years, usually 3 to 4 years), and designed to deliver group learning experiences at least several days a…

About 1.5 million uninsured children in California are eligible for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families, the state's primary public health insurance programs for children. The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides a natural entry point for reaching these eligible families. This briefing report was written for WIC…

This briefing packet contains data on the school and district accountability results for Kentucky's state assessment system, the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System, for 1994-1995 through its last use in 1997-1998. The first section contains state and regional accountability indices by grade level, with number of students tested and…

In operation since 1988, the Michigan School Readiness Program (MSRP) provides high-quality preschool programs for children who may be at risk of becoming educationally disadvantaged and who may have needs for special assistance. This manual provides guidelines for implementing all aspects of the program, including applying for funding, recruiting…

Beginning in 1994, the Ohio SchoolNet Program has worked to place computers in the Ohio Public Schools, and the SchoolNet Plus Initiative has provided at least one interactive computer workstation for every five children enrolled in grades K-4. This study examined (1) whether there were any relationships among teacher computer access, student…

Noting that one of the major educational policy shifts in recent years has been the establishment of state-funded prekindergarten programs, this report details a study examining how five states (Georgia, Illinois, New York, South Carolina, and Texas) managed this educational policy shift, identified the major facilitators and major barriers, and…