The Library Career Training Program, Title II-B of the Higher Education Act (HEA), provides grants to institutions of higher education and library organizations or agencies to train persons in librarianship through fellowships, institutes, and traineeships, and to establish, develop, and expand programs of library and information science. The U.S.…

Lessons learned from Onderwijs un Sociaal Milieu (OSM), or Education and Social Origin, the largest compensation and enrichment program ever developed in The Netherlands, are described in this paper. Although the program did not raise lower class students' standardized test scores to the national level, the program had overly ambitious goals and…

Some of the tensions in the adult literacy and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) fields are explored from both the state and institutional level in Australia. In an effort to promote discussion at a national conference, several questions are posed regarding these and other issues: national goals/priorities/accountability, funding for professional…

In 1990, the National Education Goals Panel--six governors, four members of the President's administration, and four members of Congress--enlisted the aid of six resource groups (RGs) of educators, business people, and technical experts in identifying: which indicators best measure progress toward six national education goals, data for the panel's…

This content assessment project is designed to determine what social studies content should be tested on national standardized tests and how that content should be defined. Sixteen historians, political scientists, and social studies educators were interviewed to identify key concepts. In a second phase, the cultural literacy rationale for content…

The objectives of this Congressional hearing on high definition information systems were: (1) to receive testimony on standards for systems that permit interoperability between the computer, communications, and broadcasting industries; (2) to examine the implications of the Grand Alliance, an agreement by high definition television (HDTV)…

Britain's General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) represent a new qualification that offers students a broadly based preparation for employment as well as an accepted route to further and higher education. They are of equal standing with academic qualifications at the same level and are designed to fit between and to complement the…

The costs and benefits of recent statewide and nationwide educational assessment programs are examined. The purpose of this paper is to present and substantiate some critical lessons and observations concerning: how the costs and benefits of large-scale assessments (LSAs) can be appraised, and the utility of this type of research to policymakers…

The current progress of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is examined, and its background is summarized. Federally financed since the late 1960's, the NAEP is a survey of U.S. students' achievment in various subject areas. As an indicator of change in elementary and secondary educational achievement, it has received attention…

A final report and final evaluation report of Phase III are provided for a project to establish a national clearinghouse for apprenticeship-related instructional materials. The final report provides a summary and a narrative account of these project activities: identification of materials; identification of apprenticeship curriculum needs;…

Based on the FairTest perspective, this paper argues that the United States does not need a national test to measure progress toward the nation's educational goals and that such a test would have adverse impacts on low-income and minority students. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) should remain an indicator system but should…

This report documenting the speeches and recommendations made during a conference on library and information services begins with three presentations: (1) "Preparing for Partnerships: Libraries and Educational Reform in Tennessee" (Secretary of State Bryant Millsaps); (2) "The Tennessee Governor's Conference on Library and…

This report, submitted to the President in accordance with the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) Act (PL 91-345), describes NCLIS activities for the 12-month period from October 1, 1981 through September 30, 1982. Activities specially noted include the dissemination of the NCLIS report entitled "Public…

Education in the State of Qatar was traditionally limited to the "orthography of the Arabic language." In 1952 Qatar had one elementary school for boys with 240 pupils and 6 teachers. By 1955, an elementary school for girls (n=50) was established. In 1980-81, schooling increased to 71 schools for boys with 20,588 students and 70 schools…

A summary of the State Committee report on Finnish adult education outlines principles and guidelines on which planning for program development should be based. Nine topics include: objectives, concepts, policy aims, functional background, system evaluation, organizational development, pedagogic development, financial and social support, and…