For the past 12 years, the Cowen Institute has published the "State of Public Education in New Orleans" ("SPENO") on a near annual basis. During that time, the purpose, content, and audience of the report have evolved. This edition of the report is a snapshot of public education in the current academic year using aggregated…

Nationally, there are dozens of established indicators of school performance and thousands of possible combinations of those indicators to create an accountability framework. How do policy makers decide which variables are most important? This relates to measurement modeling -- that is, how to incorporate all pieces of the puzzle into a…

This paper defines the concept of "improvement infrastructure" and "educational capital" for education, and it uses the case of the National Writing Project to develop an extended, data-based illustration of the design and generativeness of an improvement infrastructure. Since 1983 there have been multiple "waves" of…

This evaluation report describes the process by which a large, urban-suburban school system evaluated its vocational education program and the results of the evaluation. The evaluation was built upon a set of broad evaluation questions addressing two components of the vocational-technical program: (1) questions related to employer needs and…

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and its Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) are committed to bringing effective substance abuse prevention and behavioral health promotion programs to every community in the Nation. As more knowledge is gained about efficacy and effectiveness of prevention and…

This paper compares the results of different models of police intervention in child sexual abuse cases in New South Wales, Australia. Data suggest that specialist police units in which police manage the full investigation provide a more comprehensive service than those where the police response is fragmented among units within the police force.…

An ever-expanding body of social science research indicates that school is the single best avenue out of poverty, and educational achievement is now the most accurate predictor of a person's future economic success. Therefore, to help school districts, schools, parents, and community leaders improve the education of disadvantaged children, a wide…

As part of a series of reports designed to support the implementation of Proposition 10: The California Children and Families Act and to provide comprehensive and authoritative information on critical issues concerning young children and families in California, this report examines home visiting as a service delivery strategy for early…

This report was prepared to provide information on school evaluation practices to the education community and the general public. It is intended to assist individuals in selecting school evaluation models that assess the dimensions and components of a school that are considered most relevant and most related to school improvement. Work on the…

As part of a series of reports designed to support the implementation of Proposition 10: The California Children and Families Act and to provide comprehensive and authoritative information on critical issues concerning young children and families in California, this report examines how child health services can be improved to support two related…

Although energy development ultimately produces some additional tax revenues, these revenues are usually much lower during early development stages than after the energy-producing operation begins, thus creating an early shortrun imbalance between government revenues and expenditures. State and federal loans, impact aid for operating expenses, and…

Despite the potential of technology, it is clear that the benefits of computers, multimedia and telecommunications technology are not as widespread in schools as could be hoped. To ensure that all students and teachers have access to technology, the issue of comprehensive, statewide implementation must be addressed. This cost model for…

A model and supportive materials are presented for design and implementation of a program for involving citizens in decision-making concerning significant environmental issues. Chapter topics include: why citizen involvement? (potential benefits of the process); theoretical basis for citizen involvement (three fundamental perspectives underlying…

The Rural Itinerant Manpower Services Project, a joint venture of Portable Practical Education Preparation, Inc. (PPED) and Arizona's Department of Economic Security (DES), is a modified mobile service delivery model. It seeks unsubsidized employment for and provides social services to Southern Arizona's migrant/seasonal farmworkers and rural poor…

This publication explores the relationship between state systemic reform initiatives and state student assessment programs using a database established by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory and interviews with state assessment directors in California, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Texas, and Vermont. States throughout the country are…