The ways states are improving their literacy services for adults with disabilities were examined through a national survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) and National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) and case studies of three states: Oklahoma, Illinois, and Connecticut. The OVAE/NIFL…

Presents information from a Texas conference which examined the problems of creating an ethnically diverse teaching force. Recommendations for recruiting culturally diverse students into teaching are provided, focusing on the role of public school educators, university personnel, state legislators, education agency personnel, educational…

To examine the accuracy of myths of state higher education finance trends, this study used data from 50 states to explore recent patterns in funding allocation, state policies, and system characteristics. Data were gathered through development of a database on state system characteristics and trends and through two surveys sent to state higher…

This volume, which describes the status of public education in Utah for the year 1993-94, focuses on the issue of educational reform. Following the introduction and overview, chapter 1 reviews reform legislation and implementation efforts during the last decade. It describes the context for reform in political, demographic, and economic terms.…

This publication presents recommendations for state policy that are meant to promote the simultaneous reform of both K-12 education and teacher education. The main body of the document consists of recommendations based on recurring themes gleaned from interviews with state leaders: (1) the state legislature should adopt statutory provisions…

A survey of state policies and practices regarding child care that was conducted prior to most states' implementation of the Family Support Act is reported. The report summarizes the findings of that survey and provides information from other recent studies. State child care roles and responsibilities are assessed in four main areas: (1) states as…

This publication assesses the status of public elementary-secondary education in South Dakota and describes the state's progress toward meeting the six National Education Goals. A notable achievement is the Families First program, which is a broad-based initiative that empowers communities to identify and meet local human service needs and to…

Although the Minnesota Business Partnership is generally pleased with the success of its school choice initiatives, it realized that more must be done to improve educational quality. Concentrating on learning readiness, this report discusses the role of education in a healthy society, describes the condition of education in Minnesota, and offers…

An analysis of school choice programs is presented. The review is organized around the following topics: common characteristics of programs, variations, advantages and disadvantages, the relationship between choice and student achievement, and state role. A conclusion is that policy decisions will have to be based on factors other than effects of…

Beginning with a capsule history of United States education reform efforts and an examination of the American "myth" of the apolitical nature of education, this paper explores the political bases of education policy. Reviewing the literature on educational politics with a particular concern for recent curriculum reform efforts at the state level,…

In the wake of January 1988 takeover legislation to improve education in the State of New Jersey, this paper describes and justifies the strict state three-tier monitoring system of school district educational standards. School districts that need improvement after the first level of monitoring must develop an improvement plan to overcome their…

Issues concerning declining college enrollments of black students are addressed, with attention to: the need for both access and quality, trends affecting college enrollment, and targets for state action. It is argued that black student access to higher education will be a hollow achievement unless it is access to a quality education. At virtually…

This annual report describes some of the major activities currently under way across California to implement educational reforms. The achievements described focus on raising standards in California schools, providing technical support to school districts, and charting progress at the local level through a statewide accountability program. The…

This booklet contains a series of potential educational goals for Michigan in 1985, prepared by a task force appointed by the governor. The selection of these goals was guided by three major considerations: programs likely to achieve progress within a year, projects directly affecting the classroom level, and goals with statewide effects. These…

In 1980 the federal government mandated that assistance be given states to conduct systematic assessment of current practices in Title XX funded day care programs and that a summary report of this assessment be provided to Congress. Assessment findings are given in this document. Overall, provider practices exceeded state licensing standards and…