The human brain develops rapidly in the first five years of life. High-quality early learning experiences can have a profound and lasting positive effect on young children during these years, setting the stage for success in kindergarten and beyond. This is especially true for young children with high needs who are from low-income families; who…

Few states have established systems for overseeing dual enrollment programs to encourage institutions to align their practices with quality standards. Five states (Arkansas, Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota), have established incentives or requirements for post-secondary concurrent enrollment providers to pursue the National Alliance of…

Goal 5 of "The Illinois Commitment," strategic plan for higher education in Illinois, stipulates that by 2004, all academic programs will systematically assess student learning and use assessment results to improve programs. This paper provides the history and context for the systematic assessment of student learning, including…

This is the first report on the performance indicators adopted by the Illinois Board of Higher Education in February 2003 to assess progress toward the six goals of "The Illinois Commitment." This imitative is a work in progress that will be implemented and refined over multiple years. This first report focuses on the statewide and…

This document provides additional information for teachers and administrators who are implementing the Illinois Plan for Home Economics Education by conducting the several exploratory/orientation courses developed in the curriculum. These six appendixes contain the following: (1) the Illinois Home Economics Sequential Program; (2) a comparison of…

The Illinois Bilingual Education Service Center is State funded and includes several component projects: Illinois Resource Center; Title VII Midwest Resource Center; Illinois ELS/ABE (English as a Second Language/Adult Basic Education) Service Center; and the Bilingual Consumer and Homemaking Education Project. Project cooperation and content are…

A network of quality schools has been suggested as a means of achieving excellence in Illinois public schools. Such a program to be effective, must be specific while at the same time addressing the broad and complex needs for education. Also, the proposed network must be built upon the mistakes of the past and must stimulate renewal at the local…

This booklet outlines Illinois' eight goals for its public school system for the 21st century. The first two goals reflect a vision for Illinois education. In general, these goals provide an outline of expectations and aspirations for students. The other six goals reflect the nature of support necessary for that responsibility to be successfully…

Part of a comprehensive state study, this report assesses the scope and content of Illinois instructional requirements and offers preliminary recommendations toward improving the public school instructional program. Sources of information include state regulations, interviews, historical documents, statistical data, and analysis of other states'…

To complement the information gathered on middle school and high school literacy initiatives as reported in "Middle and High School Literacy across the Curriculum" (Task 1.2 Fast Response Project), the Regional Educational Laboratory Southeast (REL-SE) staff conducted a scan of the six southeast states to gather the following information…

A survey determined people's perceptions of the relationship of vocational-technical education (VTE) to secondary school programs. Data were collected from 451 local school board members, school administrators, school business officials, and citizens from Illinois during a joint convention of the state associations of all three groups in November…

The Task Force on Adult and Continuing Education was charged to formulate a general agreement on practices, procedures, and a proposed design of a program of education for adults in Illinois. Other responsibilities have been formulating goals usable for adult educators in creating programs, determining procedures, and choosing technologies and…

This booklet contains 25 abstracts of research and development projects funded in the fiscal year of 1971 for the Research and Development Unit of Illinois Division of Vocational and Technical Education. Intended to make educators and the general public aware of research and developmental activities in vocational education in Illinois, these…

Intended for Illinois teachers of visually, hearing, or physically handicapped children at the elementary grade level, the handbook provides information for developing a career education program. Focused on in chapter 1 is special education in the state of Illinois with sections on philosophy and program guidelines, regional programs and services,…

The state of Illinois recently has required state goals for learning to be identified and assessed in the following areas of learning: language arts, mathematics, biological and physical sciences, social sciences, fine arts, and physical development and health. The Illinois Goal Assessment Program (IGAP) is designed to assess the progress made…