This document describes state and local elementary and secondary education standards developed for academic achievement and assessment of student progress in Missouri. In response to the Outstanding Schools Act of 1993, the Show-Me Standards were established to represent knowledge students should acquire and how they should be able to communicate…

The School-Based Management and Accountability Program, also known as the "ABCs of Public Education," or just "the ABCs," is the statewide school-based accountability program for public schools in North Carolina. This document reports the results of the 1997-98 ABCs, in the second year of the implementation of the ABCs in…

The report summarizes findings and recommendations of a Virginia Department of Education Task Force concerning the establishment of comprehensive hearing screening programs in Virginia's public schools. Special emphasis was on findings of Project HEAR (Hearing Education and Resources) which found that mass hearing screenings could be conducted in…

In anticipation of federal welfare reform, the Texas Department of Human Services developed and implemented the REFOCUS program, designed to enhance the economic self-sufficiency of English-as-a-Second-Language recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) through better use of existing education, job training, employment, and…

The statewide goals and objectives of Tennessee's plan for educational excellence, the 21st Century Challenge, are outlined in this legislative committee report. The major initiatives under each goal will be implemented within 3 to 4 years. Goals and an example of the several objectives under each goal are: first grade readiness (e.g., require all…

The Kentucky Beginning Principal Internship Program (KBPIP)--the first of its kind in the United States--was mandated by the Kentucky General Assembly to upgrade the quality of educational leadership in the schools through testing and an internship program especially for school principals. Following an overview of educational reform in Kentucky…

A nationwide study was conducted to examine the trend toward or away from noncategorical teacher certification in special education, as well as patterns and limits of existing state certification systems. Responses from both State Directors of Special Education and State Certification Officers were obtained at a rate of 100% and 98% respectively.…

This practical manual provides useful, concrete ideas and suggestions to help public libraries make libraries more accessible to persons with disabilities. Most suggestions are for persons who have difficulty with mobility. Reviews of pertinent laws and regulations are followed by concrete, step-by step suggestions for planning for accessibility,…

Intended primarily for principals and guidance counselors, this monograph contains 13 articles written by practitioners associated with the Comprehensive Career Development Project for Secondary Schools in Tennessee. These articles share the thoughts, ideas, and experiences of practitioners who have implemented or planned for the implementation of…

The process of developing indicators, measures, and standards of program quality can be considered a tiered, four-step process consisting of the following: (1) identification of topic areas important to program quality; (2) establishing the indicators that reflect quality for each area; (3) determining measures of the indicators; and (4) setting a…

As a preliminary to developing criteria to meet quality control requirements of the National Literacy Act of 1991, a study examined federal and state development of measures of program quality and performance standards for programs funded under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education…

This booklet is designed to help people in Maine communities organize on a local level to address one of the main goals of the America 2000 program, that all children will start school ready to learn. The booklet suggests that this goal is more complicated than it first appears and that its meaning can vary, depending upon the perspective from…

A project investigated strategies that facilitated linkages between planning and evaluation as well as articulation across secondary and postsecondary levels in vocational education. The methodology included a literature review, two surveys of states regarding the linking of planning and evaluation, and analyses and examples from three case…

The purpose of this study was to examine children's choice state book award programs to determine their impact on the media collection and, ultimately, on what students were reading. Questionnaires were sent to 40 randomly selected schools in 5 states (Georgia, Ohio, Texas, California, and Vermont) with active (1991-1992) state book award…

In 1991-92, a study was conducted to refine and implement a system for evaluating the California Community Colleges' vocational education special projects funded under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act of 1984. The study focused on the 110 projects funded in 1988-89 and 1989-90, assessing their achievement of federal and state goals.…