If rewards are to be used as a school-reform tool, their formats must be more closely tailored to the organizational characteristics of schools and to the purpose of improving teaching and learning. This paper describes lessons learned from Kentucky's collective incentive system, the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS). The…

The authors' experiences with electronic bulletin boards are recounted. Begun in 1986, the Physics Forum bulletin board for Massachusetts high school physics teachers spent its first few years as a resource of limited use only. In 1989, however, the National Science Foundation awarded the Five Colleges/Western Massachusetts Partnership a grant…

SchoolNet is a state-funded partnership that will facilitate the installation of computer and communications networking technology in public schools and classrooms across Ohio and coordinate its use. SchoolNet seeks to provide Ohio students with expanded course offerings; more individualized educational opportunities; interactive learning…

A project produced and disseminated to adult basic and literacy education practitioners in Pennsylvania a newsletter containing relevant information designed to meet their professional development and awareness needs. It prepared and disseminated an 8-12 page newsletter for the months September 1993 through June 1994. Information contained in the…

Implementing welfare reform will require difficult decisions from states about how to treat welfare clients who have problems with alcohol or other drugs (AOD). The processes by which states may respond to welfare reform are detailed in this guidebook. It is suggested that states begin with values clarification regarding welfare clients who abuse…

Chapter I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is the largest federally-funded program designed to provide services to elementary and secondary students to meet the special needs of educationally deprived students who reside in areas with high concentrations of low-income families. The 1994-95 school year is the last year of…

This strategic plan outlines the goals and objectives of the Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (IDVR) for fiscal years 1996-99. The plan begins with a mission statement, a list of rehabilitation values, and an explanation of the services IDVR provides and how IDVR works as a change agent. Values associated with the importance of client…

This paper contributes to the body of knowledge on new forms of assessment by examining the impact of teacher involvement in the scoring of standards-based performance assessments. Researchers studied 250 of 500 teachers who participated in a New York state project to pilot new state assessment prototypes. The National Center for Restructuring…

The 1993-94 school year was a transition year for the Nevada Proficiency Examination program in that it marked the year in which proficiency examinations were first mandated for grades 4, 8, and 11. Because the change from assessment at grades 3, 6, 9, and 12 would leave one class untested between grades 6 and 11, a requirement was passed for…

Beginning in the mid- to late-1980s, state policymakers began to rethink their strategies for influencing curriculum and instruction in public education and adopted a policy strategy known as standards-based, systemic reform. This issue of "Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) Policy Briefs" examines how standards-based, systemic…

State legislators across the country have responded with new efforts to change the authority and practice of the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Since 1992, 48 of the 51 state legislatures (including the District of Columbia) have made substantive changes to their juvenile justice laws. This report presents the first comprehensive analysis…

Students whose primary language is not English and who are of limited English proficiency are an increasing percentage of North Carolina's school population at all grade levels and in all parts of the state. These guidelines are designed to clarify their participation in the statewide testing program. This program includes the end-of-grade tests…

The Maryland Middle Grades School Policy Initiative addresses the polices and practices that support improved school and student performance. To document changes in policies and practices, this series of publications entitled "Milestones" was developed. Each publication traces the development, implementation, evaluation, and refinement…

Strategies for teacher retention are presented, including successful approaches and elements for operating a state system for personnel recruitment and retention in special education. Such initiatives as the Utah Mentor Teacher Academy; the Texas Teacher Recruitment, Retention and Assistance Program; and the Kansas Recruitment/Retention Project…

The Board on Testing and Assessment of the National Research Council convened a workshop in 1994 to help policymakers and others better understand the complex issues emerging from the standards-based educational reform movement. This bulletin synthesizes the workshop discussions. It is organized around four major themes that emerged from the…