The document, over two-thirds of which consists of attachments, presents Part I of the final report on a child advocacy research and demonstration program in Tennessee, called County Agents for Children. The program established four county agents as general advocates for children in four rural counties, with roles modeled after those of county…

The semi-annual report of the Tennessee Research Coordinating Unit for Vocational Education summarizes the unit's activities for January 1, 1975 to June 30, 1975. The report includes: (1) technical assistance provided to school administrators, teacher educators, and instructional staff members; (2) staff conference attendance and speaking…

Presents the basic considerations and major procedures employed in building a vocational special needs evaluation system in Vermont. (JOW)

The Statewide (Virginia) Personnel Preparation Project, designed to provide training and ongoing support for teachers of learning disabled adolescents, consists of four major components: a summer institute, a full-year follow-through directed study program, a four-activity technical assistance program, and a preservice component. (CL)

Goal 5 of "The Illinois Commitment," strategic plan for higher education in Illinois, stipulates that by 2004, all academic programs will systematically assess student learning and use assessment results to improve programs. This paper provides the history and context for the systematic assessment of student learning, including…

The Reading First initiative is a central part of the federal "No Child Left Behind Act" of 2001. Reading First's primary goal is to improve reading instruction and student performance in kindergarten through grade 3. By March 2003 only half of the 50 state plans had been approved for funding. Approved states included seven Southern…

This report presents, in outline form, an overview of the purpose and activities of the Partnership Opportunities Subcommittee of the Task Force for Enhancing Access for African American Males of the University System of Georgia. The Subcommittee is charged with identifying a wide array of educational, civic, and business organizations to serve as…

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…

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) has collaborated with education leaders from colleges, universities, and elementary- and secondary-education institutions, business and industry leaders, and members of the state government to develop a strategic plan for higher education for Virginia. The plan acknowledges the enrollment…

The Family to Family initiative has encouraged states to reconceptualize, redesign, and reconstruct their foster care systems. By 1996, the initiative was being implemented in five states, five Georgia counties, and Los Angeles County, California. To implement necessary changes, Family to Family sites have designed and tested an approach called…

The Family to Family initiative has encouraged states to reconceptualize, redesign, and reconstruct their foster care systems. By 1996, the initiative was being implemented in five states, five Georgia counties, and Los Angeles County, California. This paper describes some of the ways natural helpers can assist professionals achieve the necessary…

While the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 included many provision of concern to child advocates, the Act also gave states increased flexibility to design welfare programs in ways that support children, or that ameliorate some of the harshest provisions of the Act. This issue brief describes innovative…

Describes the program the Michigan department of education mounted to improve the way in which the media report the results of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program, a program that tests the basic skills of all fourth-, seventh-, and tenth-grade students each year. (IRT)

Describes an "Aggressive Adoption" program designed to combat the problem of foster care "drift" by expanding the availability of adoption resources for children in the care of a small, public child welfare agency. (RH)

Describes the procedures by which Kentucky's state assessment program synthesized results from three standard setting procedures (Contrasting Groups, Bookmark, and Jaeger-Mills) for the 2000 state assessment. Shows the value of using multiple standard-setting approaches to gather information from each. (SLD)