Despite the popular belief that affirmative action gives Black and Latino students an unfair advantage, these students are still underrepresented at the nation's selective colleges and at two- and four-year public colleges and universities in the vast majority of states. The truth is, it isn't enough to just believe that racial inequality is a…

State implementation of new standards (revising, adapting, and adopting new standards) is a significant undertaking. Such an effort at the state level requires extensive support, planning, and resources. Implementing new state standards also requires the support of multiple education leaders--governors, legislators, state departments of education,…

Given established links between social-emotional skills and academic achievement, there is growing support for implementing universal social/behavioral interventions in early schooling (Jones & Bouffard, 2012). Advocates have been particularly interested in implementing such programming in low income urban schools where students are likely to…

Young people who are leaving the foster care and juvenile justice systems often experience a difficult transition to adulthood that is characterized by a number of troubling outcomes, including poverty, low levels of education and employment, and housing instability. While some services are available for these populations, there is little evidence…

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) program is an oral assessment designed to measure the most basic foundation skills for literacy acquisition in the early grades. EGRA's purpose is to document student performance on early grade reading skills in order to inform ministries…

To assure accountability to educational policy developed by elected and appointed leaders, agencies and organizations must adopt high quality evaluation designs tailored to meet three basic tenets: (1) different processes for policy formation and demonstration of accountability; (2) clear accountability expectations built into policies; (3)…

Addressed to the Minnesota State Legislature, this report on Minnesota's Early Childhood Health and Developmental Screening Program discusses issues related to program goals and program implementation, overviews the program, and reports and summarizes statewide program results for 1985-86. Issues discussed concern responsibility for the program,…

Eighty-six teachers' perspectives on mandatory/other mandatory, voluntary, and non-formal inservice education were studied. Findings indicated that formal inservice education that did not accompany mandatory program changes were not effective in changing classroom behavior of teachers. The study resulted in recommendations for school…

This paper presents information to assist in the planning and development of policy related to the education of very young children with disabilities. The paper first considers research-supported reasons for providing early childhood intervention services based on effectiveness data from many sources. Subsequent sections examine: (1)…

This guide helps advance professional development schools (PDSs) in assisting the simultaneous renewal of teacher education and schools, offering concrete suggestions regarding the financing and policies needed for PDSs. The publication offers information to help people make informed decisions concerning the laws, regulations and finances of PDSs.…

This paper describes the results of an evaluation of the Palliative Care Service, one of the first hospices in North America (Montreal), and the implications of that research for social policy development. The objectives of the research were to evaluate the reliability of predictive assessments of bereavement risk and the effectiveness of…

This policy research summary outlines the paradigms and processes used in recent research and evaluation studies conducted on supported employment and rehabilitation programs in Minnesota. First, the paper reviews evaluation strategies and models for assessing the individual and societal efficacy of supported employment. It identifies key…

This hearing was held to give individuals, organizations, and government officials an opportunity to express their concerns about the state of rehabilitation services in the United States and to recommend changes that would make service delivery more effective. The hearing was held in consideration of the reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act…

This summary of the development and implementation of the Study of Induction Programs for Beginning Teachers includes descriptions of the methods used to obtain data as well as recommendations and conclusions drawn from the study. Critical questions in the investigation were: (1) What are the problems of beginning teachers? (2) What kinds of…

Model Policies in Support of High Performance School Buildings for All Children is to begin to create a coherent and comprehensive set of state policies that will provide the governmental infrastructure for effective and creative practice in facility management. There are examples of good policy in many states, but no state has a coherent set of…