In fall 1998, the Maryland State Department of Education and six schools began a pilot program to evaluate the impact of serving breakfast to students in the classroom as part of the school day. Students in participating schools have an opportunity to eat breakfast in their classroom each day at no charge, regardless of family income. The program,…

Equity, the driving force of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990, serves as the underpinning for an array of initiatives including the Kentucky Education Technology System (KETS). Sparse research exists on decision-making practices relative to equity measures associated with the distributions of KETS resources. The purpose of this…

This Action Plan has been developed to ensure the success of the Arkansas Smart Start Initiative, the part of the Arkansas Comprehensive Testing, Assessment and Accountability Program (ACTAAP) that focuses on grades K through 4. As do other aspects of the ACTAAP, the Smart Start Initiative has four components, each of which is described here: (1)…

This year marks the seventh edition of the "Summary of State Student Assessment Programs" (SSAP) and the third year that the Council of Chief State School Officers has conducted the survey on which the summary is based on its own. The survey summarizes what is happening in statewide assessment programs and provides information on trends…

This report describes progress made on Connecticut's strategic plan to ensure racial and ethnic diversity. Connecticut's public colleges and universities are becoming more diverse every year, and 2001 was no exception. The overall numbers of students, graduates, and professional employees from minority groups are higher than ever, although…

One of four being published on a five-state project on the dynamics of child care subsidy use, this report provides a detailed look at families receiving child care subsidies in Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Texas, and the factors associated with length of subsidy receipt and provider stability. Data were collected and analyzed by…

This review assembles what is known from studies and analyses of large-scale systemic reform initiatives aimed at mathematics and science education, especially those undertaken by state governments and the National Science Foundation. The review concentrates on qualitative investigations, which reveal whether and how these initiatives converge on…

This paper analyzes the economic costs and benefits of Minnesota's nonresident tuition policies and tuition reciprocity agreements to the state. It also assesses the effects that modifications to these policies and agreements would have on migration patterns and the costs and benefits arising from such modifications. The methods used, such as…

In response to "Closing the Gaps: Participation, Success, Excellence, Research," the new Texas Higher Education Plan, this document contains a proposal that will help achieve the desired level of quality among higher education programs in Texas by ensuring that these programs are relevant to the global content of the 21st century. It is…

To help teachers, administrators, and parents understand student performance in writing, a state-level report is prepared each year to analyze students writing scores and provide guidelines for the interpretation of the results. This report compares students scores on the 2001 Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) with scores on the 2000 DSTP…

In 1995, the Missouri Legislature adopted Senate Bill 301, which directs the Health and Educational Facilities Authority of the State of Missouri to assist school districts in the issuance of general obligation bonds. The law charges the Authority with developing guidelines for and administering two voluntary methods relating to the issuance of…

This study investigated the return on investment (ROI) of the Southern extension Leadership Development (SELD) Program as implemented at the University of Georgia. The SELD program builds around the skills individuals and groups in cooperative extension work need to be effective in the future. The centerpiece of SELD is the Managerial Assessment…

This document presents questions and answers to some frequently asked questions concerning student fees and financial aid at California's public colleges and universities. The answers provide an overview of costs and aid at public institutions of higher education in California. In the 2003-2004 year, California residents enrolled as full-time…

The settlement between the states and the tobacco manufacturers reached in November 1998 is expected to infuse $206 billion in new revenues into state treasuries over the next 25 years. This study examined state decisions concerning the tobacco settlement revenues in order to highlight opportunities for using the funds to support children's…

This report contains state and school district student testing results for the Oklahoma Testing Program for the 1998-99 school year. Several benchmarks are reported, including the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS), Oklahoma Core Curriculum Tests (OCCT), and American College Test Assessment (ACT) results. The National Assessment of Educational…