Outcomes of Tennessee's Career Ladder Program are presented in this report, with a focus on the early implementation stage and perceptions of teachers and administrators. Methodology involved two sets of interviews with participating teachers and administrators from 18 schools and a statewide survey of 1,039 out of 2,105 faculty from 54 schools.…

In October 1988, 48 suburban and greater Minnesota school districts, representing approximately 20 percent of the state's public elementary and secondary school students, filed a lawsuit claiming that Minnesota's school financing system violates the state's constitutional mandate for equality of educational opportunity. (A ruling in the case is…

An overview of educational goals adopted and legislative actions taken in 12 southern states is provided in this report. Individual states' goals and actions are outlined in terms of the most commonly identified goals: school readiness and performance; student achievement; dropout rate reduction; college readiness; and attracting, recruiting, and…

Listening skills are the most used and least taught of the communication skills. However, in 1978 the United States federal government, through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, added listening and speaking to reading, writing, and arithmetic as determinants of literacy and needed basic competencies. Through the 1978 legislation, funds…

In discussing the present state of the law concerning judicial review of student expulsion and discipline cases at private colleges and universities and the quest for a satisfactory legal rationale for achieving fundamental fairness in those cases, the author argues that there are nonconstitutional doctrines of public policy and contract law not…

This report provides information on the actions of the states in educational reform. A state policy overview is presented in seven areas: (1) school leadership; (2) teaching; (3) parent involvement and choice; (4) readiness; (5) technology; (6) school facilities; and (7) college quality. Reports are given of financing school improvement,…

This document is the first volume of a two-volume set of reports on child support enforcement. Volume I contains information on the dimensions of the nonsupport problem in the United States, stressing that of the 8.7 million women who were caring for children in fatherless homes in 1983, only 58% had court orders or agreements to receive child…

Testimony concerning the proposed Regulatory Impact on Student Excellence Act (RISE), a bill to assist schools in improving student performance, is reported. The text of the bill is given in full. It begins with Congress's finding that: (1) public school teachers are currently spending more time on regulatory paperwork; (2) many teachers have…

Statements, prepared statements, letters, and supplemental material from a hearing to review the proposed Educational Excellence Act of 1989 are presented. The goal of the legislation is to promote excellence in U.S. education through recognition of and rewards to schools, teachers, and students for outstanding achievements; encouragement of the…

This document contains testimony and prepared statements from assistant secretaries in the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services; directors from the Department of Health and Human Services; the general director of Beth Israel Medical Center; the president of Phoenix House Foundation, Inc., a drug-free treatment…

This document presents witness testimonies and prepared statements from the Congressional hearing called to examine the plight of the medically uninsured in America. Opening statements are included from Senators John Heinz, Charles E. Grassley, Christopher J. Dodd, and John Glenn; prepared statements are given from Senators Lawton Chiles and…

While much has been written about state-level textbook selection and adoption, little careful, systematic data gathering has taken place. One result of this absence of formal study is that few people understand the scope and complexity of interacting persons and processes taking place whenever states make textbook decisions. This paper presents…

This description and discussion of literacy activities and issues in Canada begins with an attempt to draw together various aspects of the historical developments on literacy and current definitions and attempts at measurement. Literacy's link with adult basic education is also studied. Elements of the global situation are highlighted, and some…

Research generally influences state policy only indirectly. On the other hand, research is not utterly without influence. For example, research findings about schools and colleges which have influenced policy include: the appendices that accompanied "On Further Examination," the College Board report on the SAT score decline; the Southern…

This paper urges states to continue to press for excellence in education by making teachers partners in school improvement. It explains what research indicates are the next steps that policymakers can take to affect student achievement. It notes that policymakers must acknowledge the school as the locus of change and teachers as the bridge between…