Teach For America (TFA) and the Teaching Fellows programs are an important and growing source of teachers of hard-to-staff subjects in high-poverty schools, but comprehensive evidence of their effectiveness has been limited. This report presents findings from the first large-scale random assignment study of secondary math teachers from these…

Teach For America (TFA) and the Teaching Fellows programs are an important and growing source of teachers of hard-to-staff subjects in high-poverty schools, but comprehensive evidence of their effectiveness has been limited. This report presents findings from the first large-scale random assignment study of secondary math teachers from these…

Discusses major policy issues in gifted education in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly those of determining eligibility and of defining gifted education curriculum and its relationship with basic education. Recommends adopting an "ecological approach," in which available basic education programs and individual students' needs are considered in…

This digest, based on a longer document titled "Alcohol and Other Drugs: Use, Abuse, and Disabilities" by Peter E. Leone, addresses the following questions: (1) "Are students with disabling conditions more likely to use or abuse alcohol or other drugs than their peers?" (usually a "no" response); (2) "Are…

A study was done of the Lilly Endowment Educational Awards (LEEAs), one type of gift-aid for fulltime undergraduate Indiana residents. In particular the study addressed: (1) who receives LEEAs; (2) how Pell, State of Indiana, and LEEA formulas interact; (3) what happens when LEEAs are combined with all of the other types of gift-aid for a total…

This study sought to identify the barriers that negatively impact the ability of disabled youth to successfully make a transition from school into employment and a quality adult life, and sought to specifically define organizational disincentives to successful transition. Current research is reviewed relating to organizational barriers to…

To find major problems with the National School Lunch Program, a study was conducted with 1,015 students, their parents, and 16 school lunch supervisors in 18 Washington school districts. When interviewed, only 2% of the students said the lunch program did not need any changes. The needed changes most often mentioned were for "different kinds…