With respect to the educational attainment of students and skill levels of the labor force, America cannot compete well on an international stage. Comparative international examinations reveal that American students know less than their counterparts in other advanced industrial countries. To help improve students' skill and educational levels, the…

Standardized testing, usually in the form of a multiple choice test, has dominated educational reform throughout Mississippi for the past 2 decades. Because of the minimal impact that standardized testing has traditionally had on curriculum decisions and classroom instruction, a paradigm shift in assessment format was adopted in the State from a…

The collaborative efforts of the Council of Chief State School Officers and the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory have resulted in the State Student Assessment Program (SSAP) database. Information is collected annually about student assessment programs in each state, both in the area of traditional testing and in nontraditional…

The New Jersey Unemployment Insurance Reemployment Demonstration Project was undertaken to examine the feasibility of using the unemployment insurance (UI) system to identify displaced workers early in their unemployment spells and then accelerating their return to work by providing them with alternative, early intervention services. Three…

The Texas Automated Student and Adult Learner Follow-Up System was developed as part of a larger effort to improve and coordinate the delivery of education and training of a skilled work force. The primary task of the Follow-Up System in Program Year 1993-94 was to obtain outcome information on the former students and participants of the work…

As far back as the 1960s, research and statistics began to demonstrate what appeared to be an inequality in the criminal justice system in that minorities, particularly black males, were being arrested and confined in numbers far greater than their proportion to the general population. The Coalition for Juvenile Justice, in conjunction with…

This packet includes three pamphlets from the South Carolina School-to-Work Initiative, which involves many components in ensuring for students high levels of academic and technical achievement; strong problem-solving, teamwork and technology skills; clear career goals; better access to postsecondary education and meaningful employment; and a…

This assessment kit has been designed to assist local school districts in Michigan in evaluating their vocational education programs for compliance with Title IX. The information that is collected and tabulated can be used by the districts in planning efforts to achieve Title IX compliance and sex equity in vocational education. The assessment kit…

Designed to provide information about arts opportunities for youth and adults with disabilities, this publication describes Very Special Arts (VSA) program activities in the United States that are planned for the period of October 1, 1996, through September 30, 1997. The prospectus begins with an overview of the different types of VSA programs,…

In the California Community Colleges (CCC), authority is conditionally delegated to local college districts to approve new credit courses, articulate courses with other district colleges, and approve graduation requirements. This document details policies adopted by the CCC's Academic Senate regarding the scope, mechanisms, and conditions of that…

The impact of Kentucky state testing on educational practices in Kentucky public schools was investigated via a survey study. Randomly selected urban and nonurban teachers and principals (4 groups, N=180) throughout the state participated in the survey. Findings indicate that this state testing program has substantial impact on educational…

This report provides an evaluation of the Postsecondary Enrollment Options program, enacted in Minnesota in 1985 to allow 11th- and 12th-grade students to take postsecondary courses at state expense. It is based on interviews with state education and social services officials, a survey of 401 high school principals and directors of alternative…

A study assessed the success of Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) programs by examining current approaches, featuring operational and experimentally based measures, all using the individual as the unit observation. The research used Program Year 1990 JTPA termination and associated program participation records in Illinois and Texas. Two…

This final report discusses the activities of Minnesota's Medical Education and Research Costs (MERC) project, which was undertaken to gather data on the costs of medical education and health care research conducted by hospitals, medical centers, and health maintenance organizations and develop mechanisms to assess the costs across the health care…

The Ohio state-funded SchoolNet initiatives include two major components: "SchoolNet" and "SchoolNet Plus." SchoolNet provides telecommunications wiring among classrooms in individual school buildings; it also provides computers for low-wealth districts and supports technology-related professional development. SchoolNet Plus…