This guide explains the results and other information contained in the "Test Item Analysis Report," the "Test Item Report Summary," the "School Report," and the "District Report" for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests of spring 2002.The report contains these sections: (1)…

This report shares with educators and the public all of the test items on which spring 2002 student results from the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) are based. The release of these items provides information on the kinds of knowledge and skills students are expected to demonstrate on the MCAS tests. Local educators are…

This overview of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests is designed to help schools implement the Massachusetts"Curriculum Frameworks." For this fourth administration of the MCAS tests in 2001, the design of the tests remains essentially the same, but there are some changes highlighted in this overview. The first…

The "Local Technology Plan Guidelines" serve as the basis for the Department's annual technology data collection. This report takes a look at the data submitted by 344 school districts, examining the progress Massachusetts school districts are making in meeting the recommended guidelines. In doing so, it will gauge the degree to which…

This document is a comprehensive directory of Federal offices, programs, and facilities for K-12 education in mathematics and science for the Northeast and Islands Region. The purpose of this directory is to assist educators, parents, and students in attaining the National Education Goals, particularly Goal 4: "By the Year 2000, U.S. students…

Grant funds totaling over $136 million were awarded during fiscal year 1988 to 408 Massachusetts educational agencies, pursuant to the Massachusetts Public School Improvement Act (Chapter 188) and An Act Enhancing the Teaching Profession and Recognizing Educational Achievement (Chapter 727). Twelve grant programs reaching virtually every school in…

This paper provides an overview of how Massachusetts has successfully integrated use of the federal Medicaid program into a plan for financing Part H of Public Law 99-457, the 1986 Amendments to the Education of the Handicapped Act, on a statewide basis. Noted is the lack of a single strategy for accessing Medicaid funds for early intervention…

This guide outlines the methods for organizing and using vocational technical advisory committees in secondary schools in Massachusetts. It is intended to be used as the basis for school staff training to be conducted by personnel at the State Department of Education's Regional Education Centers. The guide provides illustrations and exhibits of…

This annual report on the numbers of homeless children in Massachusetts and their educational experiences is based on information from the following six sources: (1) family, adolescent, and battered women shelters; (2) the Massachusetts Department of Public Welfare (Welfare); (3) the Massachusetts Department of Social Services (DSS); (4) school…

This report outlines the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' plan to address the educational needs of homeless children and youth, as required by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. The major purpose of the plan is to guide local education agencies and supply them with resources as they attempt to meet the educational needs of homeless…

Massachusetts passed the first state legislation mandating bilingual education in 1971, the Transitional Bilingual Education Bill (TBE). This publication contains five case studies that demonstrate how teachers and schools have responded to the needs of their minority group students. The first case study, "Bilingual Education in a Bilingual…

This study evaluated the relationship between Massachusetts special education expenditures and revenues and the overall allocation of school budgets between special and regular education. An introduction reviews the study's background, census-based funding in Massachusetts, education reform efforts in the state, the Foundation Budget approach…