This correlational quantitative study examined a five-year (2014-2019) trend to analyze whether there is a relationship between the level of state funding and the enrollment and graduation rates of students of color attending public institutions in Illinois. For the purposes of this study, the students of color include the following groups:…

Forty-two states and the District of Columbia have enacted charter school legislation. The Education Commission of the States (ECS) analysts reviewed laws in the 50 states in creating an online database that highlights how state charter school laws vary, particularly in how states establish standards and accountability for charter school…

This study examined the achievement trends of advanced learners and the relationship between Illinois' school district characteristics and student performance using Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) scores. The 3rd grade students scoring in the Exceeds category in ISAT reading and math within 707 Illinois school districts during the…

The Early Childhood Block Grant (ECBG) distributes state funding for preschool and birth-to-three programs in Illinois. The authors conducted a case study in Evanston, a city in north Cook County, Illinois, interviewing community representatives and analyzing ECBG program data to discern how ECBG funds are used to provide early childhood services.…

The Social-Emotional and Character Development Scale (SECDS) is intended as a measure of social-emotional skills and character for elementary school-age children. This study investigated the measure's psychometric properties using data collected over 5 waves for a cohort of students followed from Grades 3 to 5 in 14 urban elementary schools (N…

Opportunity to learn via public education has origins in the mid-nineteenth-century as a response to Horace Mann's argument that educating girls as well as boys would build a collectively more prosperous society. Over the years, educational reform through the judicial and legislative branches of government has continued to balance opportunity to…

In this issue brief, the authors explore how former foster youth in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa are faring in the labor market and what explains the variability in employment outcomes for these youth. First, they describe trends in former foster youths' employment from age 17 to 24. Then, they consider how former foster youths' characteristics…

Results of a 20-year longitudinal study to determine whether change in the presence or absence of schools and in the number of schools operating in a community could be demonstrated to influence community growth. Available from: Rural Sociological Society, 325 Morgan Hall, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37916. (NEC)

Academic librarians are challenged with development and maintenance of collections of research materials in various formats. Although it is assumed that they are monitoring the needs of their constituencies as a part of the collection management decision-making process, the literature reflects only a few studies that focus on direct solicitation…

This article concerns eight decades (1920-2000) of community organization in the American Indian community in Chicago. While the trends discussed may be particular to that community or time frame, the authors expect that there are parallels in other urban Indian communities. The Chicago American Indian Center was the first urban Indian center in…

This document contains the third annual interim report of the Illinois Elder Abuse Demonstration Program. It discusses the overall intent of the demonstration program, trends and changes in the third year of the demonstration program compared with the results from the first two years of the program, and achievements and recommendations for a…

This report reviews changes in undergraduate education in Illinois since 1985-86 and identifies issues that need to be addressed. It is based on information from public university and community college annual reports on undergraduate education; "Priorities, Quality, and Productivity" reports; regular data collections; and previous State…

Examines trends in the use of androgynous names, investigating data for all white births in Illinois from 1916-1989. States that there are two plausible expectations about their growth: (1) the rise of feminist movement suggests that androgynous names would increase; and (2) cross-cultural research indicates that first names frequently designate…

Findings from a three-year study to determine the ratio of male and female graduates employed in industrial-related jobs after completing industrial technology programs at Black Hawk College, Moline, Illinois, show no significant difference in the employability rate. Several factors may limit the study validity. (MF)

This study was designed to discover content, teaching methods, organization, and trends occurring in introductory courses in speech communication in Illinois junior colleges, colleges, and universities. One hundred and thirty-five questionnaires were mailed to the department chairperson or coordinator of fundamentals of each college in Illinois…