Data collected during the first year of a 3-year study are reported. The study evaluated the effectiveness of a variety of special services provided to approximately 10,000 language-minority limited-English-proficient first- and third-grade students in English-medium classrooms in a national sample of 18 school districts. Services studied are not…

Rural schools in the western region states of California, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada are facing enormous challenges due to major shifts in the demographics of the region. Rapid growth in student enrollment, particularly of minority and limited English proficient students, the increasing rate of rural poverty and homelessness, and a projected…

This practicum was designed by a curriculum development administrator to develop positive attitudes in at-risk 7th-9th grade students in a drop prevention school in Florida. The school was located in a small town in an agricultural county whose population was predominantly black and of low socioeconomic status. The number of students varied from…

This report describes the process undertaken at Midland Technical College (MTC) for developing and implementing an institutional effectiveness assessment project using student outcomes measures as an integral part of the assessment methodology. First, the report presents the background to the project, reviewing MTC's involvement as a model…

The Criminal Justice Initiative (CJI) was conducted in Washington, D.C. from fiscal year 1984 through fiscal year 1986 to relieve overcrowded prison conditions by reducing the recidivism rate. Objectives of the project included hiring additional prison staff to provide security and increase prisoner processing, expanding the education program, and…

This ERIC digest examines states' goals of rural literacy programs and the types of programs that have proven effective in the past. It includes several definitions of literacy applied by effective rural literacy programs. It also examines the conditions that support or limit widespread influence of effective programs in rural areas. The level of…

Competence in interpersonal communication skills has been emphasized as a necessity among human service professionals and this emphasis has resulted in an increasing number of counseling psychology and counselor education programs including a course in interpersonal skills training as part of their curriculum. The purpose of this study was to…

The Transition to the World of Work program of the Albuquerque (New Mexico) Public Schools emphasizes developing functional skills and the ability to apply these skills outside the school. The ultimate goals of the program are to help students obtain meaningful, paid employment and function successfully in the community. The program provided…

This report describes a qualitative research study of an Ounce of Prevention Fund (OPF) teenage parent home visiting program located in an Illinois county with a population of 125,000. The sample consisted of 28 present and former program participants, most of whom had never been married, ages 15 to 24. Sixty percent had one child; the remainder…

After a year of research and planning, Troy State University's Writing-Across-the-Curriculum program began in winter quarter of 1988. Program proponents believe that: (1) writing is a powerful tool for learning, and (2) the instructor in a discipline can best teach the kinds of writing, research, and documentation pertinent to his field.…

This report describes the methodology used in an evaluation study to measure the effectiveness of the West End Special Education Local Plan Area's program for improving the transition of special needs students from secondary school into adult life. Goals of the San Bernardino, California, study included measuring students' quality of life upon…

This report presents first year (1984-85) findings of The Writing Project, a 2-year school-based study of the use of word processing to improve learning disabled children's writing skills. Based in three Massachusetts school districts, the project focused in the first year on intensive observation of 14 fourth grade children as they wrote with…

In an effort to determine the effectiveness of Lakeshore Technical Institute's (LTI's) Developmental/Remedial Reading Program, a comparative analysis was made of the grade point averages (GPA's) of 20 students who participated in the program and 24 students identified as having reading skills deficiences who did not participate in the program.…

Activities and outcomes of a project to assist South Burlington High School (Vermont) special education students in mastering state-mandated basic competencies are described. The Interactive Model for Professional Action and Change for Teachers (IMPACT), which was conducted in cooperation with the University of Vermont, was designed to provide…

New York State has the fifth highest dropout rate in the United States. Between 1980 and 1984 the dropout rate ranged between 32.8 percent and 34 percent. During the 1980-81 school year alone, over half (53 percent) of black high school students dropped out of school. Several approaches have been tried to decrease numbers of dropouts. This report…