Discusses the four-week summer Memphis (Tennessee) Urban Writing Institute, during which a furor erupted over the dilemma of grading. Provide a number of approaches to grading students' writing, including minimalist grading, cassette grading, collaborative grading, and portfolio grading. Suggests that teachers consider the grading dilemma and…

This special issue focuses on several methodological issues in the evaluation of the largest mental health and substance abuse project for children and adolescents conducted at a single site, the U.S. Army's Fort Bragg Child and Adolescent Mental Health Demonstration program. The introduction and seven articles describe this program and the…

This article provides a case study of the use of emergent design, which asks evaluators to adapt their inquiry processes as understanding develops, in the evaluation of a family support program, tracing the emergence of evaluation procedures through three phases. Two phases produced data that policymakers found very helpful. (SLD)

Ingredients for a successful alumni association membership campaign are outlined, including clear objectives for the campaign; support of staff, board, and administration; careful timing; focus on college events; strategically targeted mailing audience; appropriate type of mailing; unique message; attention-getting format; follow-up; and use of…

Examined reports by mathematics teachers of their degree of familiarity with various standards and assessments, then compared these reports with teachers' reports of their instructional practices in the classroom. Teacher awareness of state curriculum guides and state assessments has increased since 1995. (SLD)

Discusses how to develop effective security education and awareness programs to help the wide and varied groups of people on campuses understand their role in campus security, examining: target audiences (e.g., students, parents, faculty, researchers, and administrators); effective delivery methods (e.g., online quizzes, handbooks, and videos);…

States research shows collaboration among schools and external partners enhances student learning under certain conditions. Addresses reservations about collaborating, emerging trends and cautions, an alternative view of collaboration, and the impact of future changes in music education on collaboration. Describes a model music education…

Illustrates the contribution that the Student Case Competition of the Canadian Evaluation Society can make to agencies with evaluation needs by describing the experience of an addiction and family services program whose gambling addiction treatment program used as the case in the qualifying round of the 1998 competition. (SLD)

There is a strong comorbid relationship between conduct and substance disorders in youth. In the present study, 56 such youth were randomly assigned to receive either individual-cognitive therapy or family-behavioral therapy. Subjects in both groups demonstrated significant improvements in their conduct and reductions in their use of illicit drugs…

Reports the "Action Tract Project" (where a group of children with severe learning difficulties from a special school and a group of mainstream children from a neighboring high school in the South West of England) worked intensively together to produce a show "Together Again," which was performed for an invited audience.…

Examines an after-school intergenerational art program in Lower East Harlem, New York. Residents, aged 62 and older, and secondary school students participated together in social service, oral history, and art making. Found that interactions between teenagers and seniors in art-related activities resulted in several positive educational and social…

Discusses the quality of school-level data collected as part of state accountability systems, including the reliability and validity of school-level test scores as a measure of the value added by schools to student learning, outlining ways that these data can be usefully analyzed; illustrating challenges inherent in doing so; and discussing…

The effect of a 1-week sportfishing and environmental curriculum on participants' (aged 9-14) knowledge of fishing and biology/ecology, awareness of ethical behavior, and attitudes was assessed with 127 completed pre-/post-surveys. The program developed fishing and biology/ecology knowledge, but did not affect ethical behavior awareness or…

Interviews with 35 students who participated in student-led Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings confirmed that students were able to describe the purpose and benefits of an IEP, their disabilities, and their rights. Observation of student participation in IEP meetings for five students verified that all participated throughout their…

Summarizes recent ERIC documents and journal articles and highlights some World Wide Web resources that discuss the efforts of states to fund prekindergarten programs. Highlights resources including information on delivery systems, coordination among various programs, analyses of policy trends, program descriptions, and models of family-school…