This report of the Legislative Budget Committee of the State of Washington addresses issues regarding students in the learning disabled (LD) category of special education including cost of identifying LD students, means of determining program eligibility, effectiveness of services, and student characteristics. The report is based on literature…

The Department of Labor (DOL) conducts several activities to foster Job Corps' employer and community linkages to ensure the appropriateness of its vocational training to local labor markets and its relevance to employer needs. However, a review by the General Accounting Office (GAO) determined that information reported by DOL on the percentage of…

This report describes the early childhood education programs of the Des Moines Independent Community School District and provides evaluation of the programs' context, process, and product. Following a preface that includes the city's early childhood philosophy, the first section of the report presents a context evaluation of the programs,…

This report reviews progress made on the implementation and attainment of four sets of performance measures and indicators for the Oregon University System (OUS). Specific data are provided in regard to quality (successful completion, graduate abilities, and customer satisfaction), access (new customers, student quality and diversity),…

Support for primary-age, at-risk children is examined in the context of renewed national interest in intervention programs for this population. This report describes alternative approaches to identifying characteristics of at-risk students and then presents a summary of states' definitions of "handicapped" or "disadvantaged."…

This document presents effectiveness charts that demonstrate the impact of various programs of the Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) on strategic objectives of the district and executive summaries of all reports produced by the AISD's Office of Research and Evaluation in 1990-91. The programs described in the effectiveness charts…

A Livingston, Montana, study on lifelong learning was conducted in two parts. The first part gathered data about the following: (1) what respondents had learned in the previous 12 months; (2) their sources of information and how they rated them; (3) why they initiated learning activities; (4) economic costs and benefits; (5) what they might like…

This practicum report describes the implementation of a pilot program that used packets of learning materials to incorporate individualized instruction into a traditional curriculum in a kindergarten classroom. Objectives of the program were that 80 percent of students would demonstrate improvement in basic readiness skills, and that 90 percent of…

A study was conducted at Northwestern Michigan College (NMC), in Traverse City, to evaluate the variables affecting the feasibility of distance education to meet the educational needs of the college's geographically isolated community. Data sources included a literature review and student, faculty/staff, and community opinion surveys conducted by…

The study reported here focused on whether some special education disputes are resolved more effectively and efficiently by mediation than by a due process hearing, and whether parents and school officials feel satisfied about the process, outcome, and implementation of the agreement. Researchers analyzed requests for due process hearings filed…

Arguments for replacing standardized multiple choice tests with performance assessment that encourages teachers to devote more attention to higher order skills, and thus results in increased student achievement, are based on three assumptions: (1) the teaching profession, key decision makers, and parents will accept performance assessment measures…

This report of a 3-year project discusses the results of the testing of computer conferencing and e-mail (electronic mail) at Montgomery College (Maryland) over a period of four semesters. The product was designed to answer the following questions: (1) Could computer conferencing or e-mail increase access? (2) Would the quality of the instruction…

The 2-year evaluation of the Displaced Homemaker Program in Washington focused on the primary purpose of the program--to assist displaced homemakers in attaining independence and economic security. Approximately 2,042 eligible displaced homemakers completed the intensive instructional services component; the program served a total of 34,659…

A major initiative in Australia is a general and pervasive obsession with competency-based training and assessment. There is a real danger that the selling of competency-based training (CBT) and competency-based assessment (CBA) is greater than what it can offer. One criticism focuses on CBT, the other on CBA, although in most instances where CBT…

The goal of the project described here was to improve the quality of postsecondary education by offering institutions of higher learning information on currently funded educational projects through an interactive database, the Educational Resources Directory (ERD), which contains information on new methods, curricula, and educational technology.…