The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)--through the explicit and implicit shelter allowance provided under Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and General Assistance--spends at least $10 billion a year on housing assistance, or about as much as the Department of Housing and…

The results of a survey of the alumni of the class of 1981 of Arizona's three public universities are presented as part of the final report of the Arizona Board of Regents' Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and Competitiveness. A letter and survey form were sent to all alumni in this class, and the response rate was good to excellent. Findings…

One of the working papers in the final report of the Arizona Board of Regents' Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and Competitiveness, this document looks at ways to approach future changes in Arizona, focusing on how they will affect the higher education needs of the state. It is important to consider long term outlooks in order to better…

Two major areas of concern to vocational education are cost benefit and job and task analysis. In recent years vocational education has broadened its outlook in terms of general human development, but the historical context of vocational education and concerns for accountability require evaluation of vocational education programs to consider cost…

The Department of Agriculture's program for purchasing and distributing commodities for the school lunch program was reviewed in 15 school districts, one very large, one medium sized, and one small school district in each of five states--California, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The objectives of the review were to (1) assess the…

Describes a program in Hillsborough County, Florida, where optical scanners are being used in the schools to grade minimum performance tests. States that the system helps teachers identify students' needs more efficiently. Argues that the system will improve students' scores on the state performance tests given later in the year. (TW)

The purpose of this study is to evaluate, from a national perspective, the impact and outcomes of market reform in vocational education and training (VET), particularly the introduction of competitive tendering and "user choice". It does so by examining the structure, composition and dynamics of contestable or "quasi-markets"…

Educators who do not learn to use computers and the information highway in the classroom may be depriving themselves and their students of opportunities to access information and develop skills. This article describes how K-12 and higher education teachers should approach and use technology for management, collaboration, and conferencing. Software…

While the changes facing dental education are greater than ever, skillful planning will allow appropriate response. This will require reevaluation of faculty costs and resources. Cost containment measures could include early retirement programs, decreasing underutilized staff, and maximizing productivity. Income increases could be realized through…

The design and results of a program to support writing and, by extension, research among new college faculty (n=16) are reported. The strategy emphasized six components of writing (motivation, imagination, fluency, control, audience, and resilience), and was found to help participants meet goals for improvement (more articles accepted in refereed…

Based on case studies of Mexican private and public universities, a study used economic development theory to describe institutional strategies for responding to financial stress. Concepts of institutional rules and myths in institutional environment and processes were used to explore the role of institutional environment on decision making.…

Attempts, most unsuccessful, to reform India's university examination system are chronicled, including curriculum reform, increased frequency of public examinations, introduction of internal assessment, development of item banks, changeover to a grading system, shift to semesters, improved administration, and creation of autonomous colleges. The…

Chief state finance officers of 24 states were surveyed to discover state legislatures' response to school-finance litigation affecting small and rural school districts. In 17 of 21 states with final constitutionality rulings, funding formulas for rural districts did not change as a result. (Contains 25 references.) (MLH)

After describing both average scores, dispersion, and social inequalities in achievement in the various countries included in the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study, this article relates those "products" to country economic and cultural characteristics. It then explores relations between student scores and…

Web-based learning has been proposed as a convenient way to provide professional development experiences. Despite quantitative evidence that online instruction is equivalent to traditional methods (Russell, 2001), the efficiency of this approach has not been extensively studied among teachers. This case report describes learning in an online…