All students, including students with disabilities, must be included in state accountability systems as required by law. In April 2007, federal regulations provided states the flexibility to offer another assessment option--an Alternate Assessment based on Modified Achievement Standards (AA-MAS) for some students with disabilities. The AA-MAS is…

The historical background, information, and proposed policies and procedures for the special education services of the Michigan Department of Education are set forth. The status of each of the following programs is considered: physical and health handicaps, aurally handicapped, visually handicapped, educable and trainable retarded, emotionally…

Accountability currently is an important concept throughout education. Michigan has assumed leadership among the States in exploring and applying accountability procedures. The purpose of this report is to examine the quality and implications of that leadership. Specifically, the authors' purpose is to assess the Michigan Accountability System…

A survey seeking basic information about elementary school foreign-language instruction in Michigan indicated that the programs generally have goals relevant to current literature, are diverse, are generally meeting their goals, and are well accepted by educators, parents, and the community. (CB)

The Michigan accountability system, based on statewide objectives-referenced testing at two grade levels generated considerable controversy, including this response to criticisms of an evaluation of the program by a panel of three persons. The contract under which the evaluation was performed is quoted to show that the authors of the report were…

In response to the problem of adult literacy, the Michigan State Board of Education initiated a program to reduce the functional illiteracy rate among adults in the state significantly. This is to be accomplished by: (1) raising the level of awareness of the scope of illiteracy problems in the state; (2) developing comprehensive literacy programs…

As states continue to develop school-to-work programs following the federal School-to-Work Opportunities Act (STWOA), a critical question regards the causal effects of school-to-work programs in achieving their goals. Rather than relying on published studies that would appear only with long lags, and which would be unlikely to focus on particular…

As part of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program, 132 preprimary objectives were developed in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains. Volunteer teachers assessed the attainment of these skills in their kindergarten children. A profile on each student was designed to report skill attainment to first grade teachers and parents. The…

Provides an overview of the 2+2 Tech Prep movement, including a summary of the U.S. Labor Department publication "What Work Requires of School," and Michigan's Tech Prep efforts. Describes a technical foundation or bridging program designed for individuals who desire an associate degree in a practical field but were inadequately prepared…

This document briefly describes school improvement opportunities in Michigan, including 19 projects, programs, grants, and plans for school improvement in grades K-12; 2 accreditation processes; 2 school improvement opportunities for intermediate school districts; and 3 opportunities for professional development. Each description contains…

As part of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program, a sample of approximately 2,000 fourth and seventh grade students were tested in music and metric measurement. Teachers and curriculum specialists helped to develop individualized tests which could measure the attainment of objectives that could not be tested with group-administered items,…

Three sets of goals useful for assessing student competencies in speaking and listening are reviewed in this paper. The first instrument examined, derived from a report of that Speech Communication Association's National Project on Speech Communication Competencies for all grades, lists (1) five assumptions concerning the nature of communication…

The Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) was designed to provide information on the extent to which Michigan students have attained minimal performance objectives. This manual was written to help local Michigan school district staff read, interpret, and use MEAP data. The 1977-78 MEAP provided objective-referenced achievement measures in…

This document aims to assist teachers, curriculum specialists, and other educators in their endeavors to improve their K-12 mathematics education programs. This is a companion document to the "Michigan Essential Goals and Objectives for Mathematics Education." The document illustrates the integration of mathematical content with process…

The history of adult and community education in Michigan since 1862 can be divided into five major periods. In the first period, 1862-1930, adult and evening education was instituted by Henri A. Hobart in the Upper Peninsula and was extended by Frank Cody in Detroit. During the second period, the 1930s, Charles Stewart Mott and Frank J. Manly laid…