This report provides a comprehensive picture of the history and current state of the Pell Grant program. Using data from various federal sources, notably the Pell Grant program annual reports and the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, the report tracks key indicators of the growth and distribution of Pell Grants over the program's history…

This report describes the activities of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) over the past year. In January the CIC endorsed a plan for systematic strategic planning and discussions with member presidents and chief academic officers to consider the future of higher educational By January 2002, a document outlining key future strategies for…

The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) is designed to encourage banks and thrifts to meet the financial credit and service needs of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, requiring that lenders use their private-sector resources to meet the financing needs of all communities in which lenders conduct business. This brief outlines several types of…

Landmark studies in the late 1970s and 1980s, including Tennessee's Project STAR (Student Teacher Achievement Ratio), raised the nation's awareness that reduced class size does have a positive impact on students' academic achievement. This report provides a sketch of class-size reduction's history in a prefatory overview. Chapter 1 describes…

This paper summarizes seven school-reform models demonstrating "strong" and "promising" evidence of effectiveness in improving student achievement according to a rating scale designed by the American Institutes for Research (AIR). The intent of this summary is to assist districts and schools in the Pacific region in identifying…

This paper discusses the development of the Utah Model for Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance, and specifically, its application in the Granite School Districts Guidance Program. This model adopted the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (NOICC) competencies as its desired program content, which focuses on student outcomes.…

A program of group psychoeducation and support for single custodial fathers (SCFs) is proposed. Their population in the U.S. grew over 400% between 1970-2000 to over 2 million. The proposed program is unique with special emphasis on SCFs, featuring psychoeducational, supportive and affective components. Areas covered include: special challenges…

This report documents the results of a survey of the principal cities of the United States conducted in 1999. The objective of this survey was to help determine the impact of the growing gap between the skills demanded by today's economy and the skills of the workforce, and how mayors and other city leaders, on behalf of their citizens, are…

The Family to Family initiative has encouraged states to reconceptualize, redesign, and reconstruct their foster care systems. By 1996, the initiative was being implemented in five states and six counties in two additional states. Drawing on the experiences of Family to Family participants, a framework for child welfare leaders working to reduce…

This paper offers a brief outline of current Canadian research contributing to the understanding of quality in early child care and education, and highlights, as a means of demonstrating elements of high quality, a range of early childhood care and education programs, policies, and practices offered in Canada. Three separate components of Canadian…

This is the final report of the findings of the independent external evaluation of the NRICH online mathematics project, which began in 1996 with the goal of establishing a permanent national United Kingdom (UK) center for curriculum enrichment in mathematics. The project aims to provide mathematical learning support for very able children of all…

This review of the literature on parental involvement in urban schools is organized into three sections: (1) types of parental involvement; (2) practical involvement activities found in successful urban school programs; and (3) characteristics of successful urban school parental involvement programs. The research reports and surveys reviewed…

This booklet is part of a series of reports on "hot topics" in education. It discusses mentoring, a strategy that has become popular over the past decade. Pairing students with adult volunteers or older students who provide friendship, guidance, and support has been shown to be helpful to students and to provide benefits to mentors.…

This bulletin summarizes the results of a training and technology transfer program focussing on strengthening families for the prevention of delinquency. A national search was conducted for representative family strengthening programs, and through a process that involved national conferences, regional training sessions, and technical assistance,…

Service learning has been defined as the integration of service with academic growth. It is a method through which young people learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized service experiences. Service learning programs are individualized and unique, and to duplicate one program or to expect the same effects from one…