The Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 substantially revised the Title I program for disadvantaged children. Some of the most far-reaching changes relate to testing and accountability. States will now need to develop their own assessments and ensure that these assessments are aligned with challenging state standards linked to educational…

This report describes the results of an assessment of Sailor, Maryland's Online Public Information Network, which provides statewide Internet connection to 100% of Maryland public libraries. The concept of a "statewide networked environment" includes information services, products, hardware and software, telecommunications…

This study examined the characteristics of dislocated workers' wage profiles upon reemployment. In particular, it related these profiles to the model developed by Mincer and Ofek (1982). An inference from this model was that workers recovered wage losses relatively rapidly. Explanations for a steeply sloped reentry wage profile were as follows:…

Title I of the Elementary Secondary Education Act authorizes a federally funded compensatory program for several groups of educationally disadvantaged children. The legislation directs that priority educational needs of these children be identified and programs be designed to provide appropriate supplemental instruction. This report summarizes…

Prompted by requirements of the 1990 Perkins Act and a growing dissatisfaction among employers with college graduates' skill levels, many schools have undertaken curricular reform through tech prep and school-to-work, with most of the efforts working toward the integration of academic content into vocational programs. In general, however, tech…

Although few question the positive impacts alternative forms of assessment can have on instruction, concerns about the psychometric quality of data obtained from such assessments are taking their toll. Scoring issues are at the heart of many of these concerns. This paper addresses the causes of these concerns: misinformation about psychometric…

A 1991 study conducted by the Ohio Legislative Office of Education Oversight examined the Career Education program funded through the Ohio Department of Education. During the 2 years studied, the Career Education program was funded for $11.5 million in 60 local programs serving 365 school districts in grades K-12. (Career education is not a course…

Pennsylvania school reform in the decade following the publication of "A Nation at Risk" can be divided into three distinct phases. As these phases parallel those of the nation, Pennsylvania is a representative state in which to explore the nation's efforts to repair its ailing school system. The first phase was that of adding inputs, of…

This article reviews the development of state funding formulas or guidelines for public higher education. Originally viewed as a means to distribute public funds in a rational and equitable manner, they now are complicated methodologies. Funding formulas are all-inclusive or itemized; most states use the itemized approach. There are three…

During the 1989-90 school year, Tennessee established Project Challenge in 17 of Tennessee's poor and educationally low-performing counties. The program applied the results of Project STAR, a longitudinal experiment causally linking class size to student achievement. This paper presents findings of a study that evaluated Project Challenge by…

This report from the ongoing National Residential Information Systems Project provides statistics on persons with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities (MR/DD) receiving residential services in the United States for the year ending June 30, 1994, as well as comparative statistics from earlier years. An executive summary…

This report presents patterns and trends in the annual caseload of the Washington State Division of Developmental Disabilities for both Residential Habilitation Centers (RHC) and community programs from the period 1989 through 1994. Following an executive summary, individual chapters present extensive detail on: (1) the project's background and…

This report summarizes Colorado student aid program expenditures for 1994-95. It briefly describes the following program types: need-based grants, merit-based grants, Colorado work-study, diversity grants, required federal matches, Colorado nursing scholarships, and categorical programs. Highlights of the report reveal the following: state…

This directory provides information on organizations and resources related to rural education. The first section lists 62 national and multistate organizations, including agencies, associations, centers, clearinghouses, and federal programs. Each entry includes address, contact person, telephone number, and a brief profile of organizational…

This paper presents the results of a document and interview analysis focusing on the standards and frameworks materials that have been newly developed for teachers and administrators in New York to determine the fit between these guidelines and the developing sociocultural concept of curriculum as "conversation" within the domains of…