This guide for Connecticut policymakers and advocacy groups provides instructions for conducting a community assessment--gathering and analyzing data on child well-being, using social indicators. The guide first details the steps for a community assessment: create goals and objectives, identify outcomes and indicators, develop a plan, find…

This paper describes the National State Policy Database (NSPD), a full-text searchable database of state and federal education regulations for special education. It summarizes the history of the NSPD and reports on a survey of state directors or their designees as to their use of the database and their suggestions for its future expansion. The…

This is Volume II of the report on the evaluation of the NSLP Application Verification Pilot Projects. It supplements Volume I, which presents the evaluation findings. Volume II has two objectives: (1) to provide a detailed description of the methods used to conduct the study; and (2) to present tabulations that supplement and extend the analyses…

This report looks at national comparisons of the most recent school expenditure data published in Rankings & Estimates 2004?05 by the National Education Association (NEA). Staffing and student data come from the Common Core of Data, 2003?04 (preliminary), published in 2005 by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (Contains 9…

The shift of public policymaking regarding children and families from the federal to the state and local levels has increased demand for measures of child well-being in states and communities. However, it is difficult to obtain reliable data about the well-being of rural children in states or communities. Of 61 key indicators of child well-being,…

Keiser College is a private, for-profit Level II institution with thirteen branch campuses throughout Florida. Most of its academic programs are offered at multiple sites. A major concern has been to establish and maintain the consistency of its academic offerings at all campuses as the College expands. Building on a pre- posttesting mechanism…

The 1993/03 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:93/03), sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), U.S. Department of Education, followed a cohort of students who earned bachelor's degrees during the 1992?93 academic year. These students were first interviewed in 1993, as part of the 1993 National Postsecondary…

Collecting and using incident data are essential steps for creating safe schools. ("Incidents" are anything from criminal acts to minor problem behaviors that disrupt the orderly functioning of schools and classrooms.) With good data, it is possible to develop effective prevention and intervention plans. This handbook presents the…

This fourth annual study reports on state practices in 1999-2000 concerning reporting on the participation and performance of students with disabilities in statewide assessments. Unlike previous reports, the unit of analysis was the state assessments rather than all publicly available print reports. The report describes the assessment systems used…

This document describes the research design that will guide the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory's efforts in constructing procedural knowledge ("know-how" or working knowledge) needed to transform low-performing school districts and schools into high-performing learning communities. Little is known about procedural knowledge…

This report provides detailed statistical data on the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE), which includes two major research universities, two metropolitan/regional universities, and five community colleges. Preliminary information includes a description of the USHE, a list of organization names, a list of boards of trustees, a list of…

This report provides detailed statistical data on the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE), which includes 2 major research universities, 2 metropolitan/regional universities, 2 state colleges offering 4-year degrees, and 5 community colleges. Preliminary information includes a description of the USHE, a list of organization names, a list of…

This paper reports on an ongoing 5-year study on practices and policies that improve postschool outcomes for students with disabilities in significantly restructured high schools. Four high schools with strong internal accountability measures are subjects of an intensive longitudinal study. The schools are in both urban and smaller communities in…

Over the last decade, policymakers, practitioners, and funders in the youth development field have become increasingly reliant on social indicators as tools to identify areas of need, to target resources, to set and monitor progress toward measurable goals, and to assess policy and program effectiveness. This report to the William T. Grant…

This testimony by the co-director of the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, Christopher Edley, examines the U.S. Department of Education's (DOE's) early implementation efforts regarding the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 (NCLB), recommending actions that the DOE should take to ensure that states, districts, and schools understand and…