This study merged and expanded data from two research databases containing information on former students with mental retardation ranging from mild (N=34) to moderate (N=78) to severe (N=86). Data were obtained from the "Benefit-Cost Evaluation Project" and the "Post School Transition Project." The subjects came from different…

The lack of economics literacy is a serious problem in the United States. Today, public school students are taught little if any economics and score very poorly on economics literacy tests, with the average test score being 40 percent. This absence of economic understanding hurts the economy in the following ways: (1) economically illiterate…

A large scale study was undertaken to shed light on the question of school district efficiency, that is, the extent to which school districts are able to increase achievement beyond what would be expected from their families socioeconomic origins. Average scores on state-developed and nationally-standardized tests of third, sixth, and ninth…

The number of competing daily newspapers in American cities has dwindled until only about 50 cities boast two papers. Of the newspapers in those cities, 23 now maintain separate editorial operations but have joint printing, advertising, and circulation departments. The concept of joint operation is 50 years old, dating from the Depression years…

An exploration of the potential of telecommunications to serve the needs of Arizona for place- and time-flexible learning is presented as one working paper in the final report of the Arizona Board of Regents' Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and Competitiveness. The study looks at the capability of a statewide network to serve both…

A study of the quality of undergraduate education at Arizona's three public universities is presented as a working paper in the final report of the Arizona Board of Regents' Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and Competitiveness. The honors programs at each university are reviewed and evaluated, with recommendations made for improving the…

One of the working papers in the final report of the Arizona Board of Regents' (ABOR) Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and Competitiveness, this document looks at ABOR and at the governance and decision making processes of Arizona's three public universities. ABOR is a body corporate charged with the governance of the three universities, which…

Discussed in this report is the MacArthur/Spencer Special Project on Educational Finance conducted on the campuses of the Illinois State University. This 5-year research effort is designed to conduct research into equity, adequacy, and efficiency aspects of educational finance in Illinois. When possible, conclusions and generalizations are…

A feasibility study was aimed at developing a strategy for implementing and utilizing the job analysis methodology which resulted from the Health Services Mobility Study (HSMS), particularly as it can be applied to the field of diagnostic radiology. (The HSMS method of job analysis starts with task descriptions analyzing the tasks that make up a…

The Office of Education has allowed schools participating in the National Direct Student Loan Program to hold more than an annual average of $63 million in federal funds in excess of their 30-day needs. The General Accounting Office estimates that if the Treasury had this money it could save the government interest costs of as much as $4 million,…

A National Education Loan Bank (NELB) is proposed as an alternative to existing federal loan programs for education, such as the National Direct Student Loan program and the Guaranteed Student Loan program. The history and structures of these two programs are detailed: financing, costs, insurance arrangements, agencies, volume, and interest rates.…

This report is an assessment of the energy needs and concerns of the United States cultural community: performing and visual arts groups, museums, historic properties, archives, libraries, community arts centers, zoos, aquariums, scientific collections, auditoriums, and individual artists and craftsmen. The findings and recommendations represent a…

The adoption, use, and refinement of an operational model for comparing academic programs and evaluating their needs in 200 postsecondary institutions of all types are discussed. The study was conducted in 1975-76 of all 5,375 degree programs in Pennsylvania. To aid in using the model, the following areas are reviewed: (1) the data items included…

Phase 1 goal of a project was to provide the theoretical and methodological base for formulation of a prototype model of a comprehensive and effective system of disseminating vocational education improvement products. Major activities were divided into five categories: literature reviews, conferences and workshops, consultations, questionnaire…

This guide, the second of four, is intended for persons involved in planning new schools or new programs; that is, comprehensive change projects, especially those that have a new, innovative thrust and where past practice cannot be easily relied on. The guide examines means by which to clarify goals and methods of designing social systems before…