Background: In 2009, the Obama Administration announced its intention to rapidly "turn around" 5,000 of the nation's lowest-performing schools. To do so, it relied on the School Improvement Grant (SIG) program to provide temporary funding for states and schools, and to mandate drastic, school-level reforms. Most of these reforms require…

Over the past three decades policymakers have been seeking new ways to secure improved performance from higher education institutions. One popular approach has been performance funding, which involves use of a formula to tie funding to institutional performance on specified indicators. This report reviews findings from studies on performance…

Context: Founded in 1971 with state funding to increase the number of primary care physicians in rural Minnesota, the Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) has graduated 1,175 students. Third-year medical students are assigned to primary care physicians in rural communities for 9 months where they experience the realities of rural practice with…

U.S. educators and policymakers are concerned about the poor performance of the public schools, particularly schools that serve students from low-income families. Although education is primarily a state function, the federal government also has a longstanding interest in improving education for disadvantaged students, and it targets funding to…

This report summarizes findings of a study to identify key factors of inclusive education practices, as identified by school districts implementing such practices. The study involved contacting chief state education officers for state-level information and identification of local school districts conducting inclusive education programs and then…

Introduces a special issue on educational program adequacy--the cost of raising poor children's outcomes to functional levels through improved systems of finance, governance, organization, implementation, and educational practice. Essays raise numerous problems, including a weak knowledge base, low educational productivity, political resistance,…

A literature review examined the extent to which public funds for adult basic education and the guidelines under which funding is granted are meeting the needs of the target population as delineated by law. Research was limited to adult basic education programs funded by Federal and state monies and operated through the public school systems of…

This report on the current status of state advisory councils on adult education contains data concerning the 1975 and 1980 status of state councils in the 50 states. It consists of an introduction, four sections, and an appendix. Provided in the introduction are some conclusions of a 1975 survey on state advisory councils on adult education as…

Many eligible persons, especially those with the lowest incomes and the greatest need for assistance, are precluded from receiving benefits because of program inaccessibility. The problem of inaccessibility and nonparticipation is examined. Action by policymakers to help solve this problem is called for. (Author)

This paper reviews and synthesizes reports about family literacy programs and practices, focusing on outcomes for adult learners. Emphasis is on resources available in the ERIC database beginning in 1990. Section 1 on programs reviews sometimes conflicting definitions of family literacy and finds that a common thread is strengthening…