International governments are increasingly comparing their educational outcomes to the best in the world, not just to see how they rank, but to identify and learn from top performers and rapid improvers. This process, known as "international benchmarking," has become an important tool for governments striving to create world-class…

The Colorado Strategic Options Initiative promotes the restructuring and redesign of education to enable all schools and communities to meet all students' and citizens' needs in the future. The concept of restructuring education may be seen as part of an evolutionary process from the 20th century industrial, assembly-line model to the eventual…

This report presents and analyzes the results of the State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Profile data for the states' 1985 fiscal year (FY). Included is information from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Highlights, an executive summary, an introduction, and a section on the study purpose and methodology…

In response to a request by Congressman Claude Pepper, the General Accounting Office (GAO) conducted a study to examine the private long-term care insurance market. The GAO analyzed the premiums, benefits, and limitations of 33 policies offered by 25 insurers in 1986. The GAO assessed the potential for abuse in this market by surveying state…

The Reagan Administration decided not to convene a national White House Conference on Children and Youth in 1981; instead, some portion of the conference monies were offered to states and territories so that relevant related activities could be conducted at state and local levels. Some 47 states and territories accepted the offer of funds,…

The apparatus that the various States use to govern and coordinate their public colleges and universities has been substantially redesigned in the last 20 years. Especially dramatic has been the proliferation of "coordinating boards," those State agencies that occupy the legal and political turf between the various universities (which have their…

The new Commissioner of Education argues that accountability must start at the State level. Discusses 10 common State-level weaknesses. (JF)

The research in this paper was designed to assess the role of the individual state in directing and supervising curriculum matters within the state. Fifty surveys were mailed to the State Education Departments in each of the 50 states. Questions 1-5 of the survey were designed to determine the number of districts in each state, the number of…

Following a study of the educational needs of adults in the State of Washington, the 1967 Washington Legislature passed the Community College Act of 1967, which established the community college system. It was expressly stated in the purpose of the law that community services of an educational cultural, and recreational nature, and adult education…

This newsletter contains reports on legislative action affecting higher education in the Southern states that had regular or special legislative sessions this year. The first section contains state-by-state highlights of these special legislative sessions. Following the highlights the Southern Regional Education Board's Legislative Correspondents…

Suggestions for the development of a comprehensive state plan for environmental education in Illinois are offered in this proposal. They deal with the: (1) rationale for such a plan, (2) identification of environmentally related problems, (3) goals of environmental education, and (4) development of a strategy to achieve these goals. Problems are…

Discusses the pace of integration on the national level, with critical evaluation by black citizens and black organizations, and on the state level, citing developments in New York State. (RK)

Now that many state legislatures are increasing funding for school construction and interest rates are declining, principals need to prepare for this exciting, time-consuming development. This article outlines questions to consider before construction begins and how to manage two facilities as construction progresses. (MLH)

Recent trends in state action to recruit, recognize, reward, and renew teachers are described. Generally, testing has been but one part of a comprehensive state policy addressing teacher-related issues. (Author/MT)

This paper presents observations on a nationwide review of recent state education policy initiatives. The intent of the review was to identify initiatives that have been implemented since most of the data in the "Measuring Up 2000" report were collected, roughly academic year 1997-1998. The review emphasized higher education but did…