How youth programs, particularly those that try to prepare young people for work and higher education, are organized and implemented in the field is reviewed. In many cases, the needs of program practitioners are overlooked by the research community. The focus here is on "second-chance" programs that promote the self-sufficiency of…

This study explored the nature and extent of programs and services available for culturally diverse and economically disadvantaged gifted learners. Data were gathered through a questionnaire survey of directors of gifted programs in 49 states and territories and a questionnaire survey of 51 local school districts that have active programs for…

This digest examines features of both process and impact evaluations to help officials of youth programs assess the programs for which they are responsible. With proper planning, evaluation can be part of a program without having to compete for attention and resources with the services the program is trying to provide. A process evaluation…

Describes the Bronx Corridor of Success Initiative, a collaborative program linking schools, colleges, health institutions, and social agencies that promotes systemic educational reform in low-income communities. Discusses the strategies and outcomes from the first four years of the initiative, established in 1992, and lessons learned. (EMH)

Critics of the Federal Title I and Chapter 1 compensatory education programs to increase the academic skills of disadvantaged children suggest that the return for the Federal investment has been small and that designers have not created programs that work. When the compensatory education programs were conceived, their promise was immense. During…

This Digest argues that management factors are central to youth program successes and failures and that these factor have been ignored in research on youth programs. Instead, the Digest notes that research and evaluation of programs have focused on the following: (1) whether the right audience is served; (2) whether to make incremental…

Researchers and educators have begun to question whether Chapter 1 pull-out programs are the most effective method of delivering extra help to the students who need it. Pull-out programs are still the predominating type, but may be declining in popularity as in-class programs gain favor. This document summarizes a variety of program designs which…

This document reviews the range of findings contained in 10 recently commissioned reports on how Chapter 1 programs are implemented and how successful they are in increasing the achievement of disadvantaged students. Although the conclusions of the reports are not the same, there are some developing consensuses. Findings are discussed in the…

Recent evaluations of Federal compensatory education programs funded by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, Title I, and maintained by the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981, Chapter 1, point to qualified effectiveness in the targeting of services, program structures, and classroom arrangements for increasing the…

With the recent increase in the number of students wishing to enter vocational programs and the increased pressure on accountability and efficiency, vocational educators need to reexamine their policies regarding the selection and admission of students. Several considerations that complicate these decisions are (1) open-door policies that exist in…

Evaluations of compensatory education programs provided under Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) indicate that the traditional provision of a less challenging curriculum, limited achievement goals, and emphasis on pull-out programs for compensatory instruction actually hamper the ability of low-achieving students…

Success for All (SFA), a schoolwide research-based reform model developed by Robert Slavin and his associates at Johns Hopkins University, is based on the premise that all students can and must succeed in the early grades. The program targets students in the lower grades, providing them with intensive instruction in language arts. This effort is…

The United States confronts the problem of a large and growing prison population, the majority of which is insufficiently literate. Added to the general effects of educational disability are the marginalizing factors of ethnicity, class, socioeconomic deprivation, and other handicaps. Historically, the situation in prison literacy is 150 years of…

The most obvious and difficult problem facing educators of migrant children is that of frequent interruptions in the child's education caused by his migration. Various solutions have been put forth over the past three decades; these have included providing mobile schools and staff, residential schools, uniform record transfers, interstate credit…

Interest in the quality of after-school programs has been increasing. It is recognized that, in urban and low-income areas, after-school programs are essential to counteract the effects of a number of factors contributing to a student's lack of opportunities and ability to succeed academically. However, information on the types of programs that…