Describes the evaluation system of the Developmental Studies Program in Georgia. Reports findings of the evaluation of the English program. (FL)

Describes the first year of a program conducted by two Oregon institutions of higher education that "warranty" their teacher education graduates. The program provides support to graduates and their employers, encourages collaboration between the teacher education program and local schools, makes the teacher education faculty accountable,…

Chronicles the North Dakota process in which students entering nursing programs, beginning in 1987, will be required to have baccalaureate degrees for professional nursing practice and associate degrees for technical nursing practice. Discusses how this process came about, the role of the North Dakota Board of Nursing, how changes occurred, public…

Describes New Jersey's coordinated, statewide higher education effort involving mandatory testing, remediation, and evaluation. Reviews the program's history; the role of the New Jersey Basic Skills Council (NJBSC); the Basic Skills Placement Test, which focuses on reading comprehension, sentence sense, math computation, and elementary algebra;…

The author provides a first-person account of what a citizen group accomplished when they mobilized against the Duval County (Florida) law that raised state graduation requirements for vocational education students. What the group achieved and hopes to achieve in the future is discussed. (CT)

The history of direct writing assessment and scoring procedures in South Carolina are discussed. The South Carolina Basic Skills Assessment Program Writing Committee developed writing objectives for students. Holistic and analytic scoring procedures were used. Information on instructional improvement and student deficiencies was distributed to…

This report traces the history and accomplishments of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education over the past 12 years, during 3 state administrations. In the early 1990s, as the Commonwealth was feeling the impact of recession, the perceived quality of the system was declining, as were enrollments and retention. State policymakers and leaders…

This document provides a summary of legislative actions and issues in the member states of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). The economic slowdown continued to dominate legislative deliberations of state budgets, with midyear cuts the norm rather than the exception. It is expected that 2002-2003 will be another tight year, with…

The competency testing of teacher candidates has become almost universal in the United States. This paper explores some of the issues associated with competency testing, especially as they relate to teacher testing in California. The practice has its origin in concern that some of those who choose to pursue teaching careers in the elementary and…

This paper discusses recession and the major policy considerations that states and institutions must face in the current economic downturn. It explores the public policy implications of three major variables: (1) each of the 50 states has a unique higher education system; (2) each state also has a unique revenue and budgetary process; and (3) each…

This document is designed to show the connection between the required state-written curriculum (courses of study) and the state-tested curriculum (the Alabama High School Graduation Examination and the Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition [Stanford 9]) in Mathematics. The document illustrates that courses of study content standards embody both…

This report contains the profiles of state-sponsored extended learning initiatives in California, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Texas. They address the need to provide extra time and opportunity for students who have difficulty meeting today's standards, and for students who are meeting standards during the school day, but want…

Community colleges and baccalaureate and graduate degree granting institutions are active in school-to-career efforts in Colorado in a variety of ways. This document describes some School-to-Career initiatives at Colorado colleges, grouped according to three major educational objectives. The first is to infuse School-to-Career competencies and…

Almost every state has in place a state assessment and accountability system. These systems vary greatly in their characteristics but share a common global purpose of improving teaching and learning. Some of the variations in the state systems are discussed and illustrated with examples from selected states. Issues that are critical to the value…

This report presents the results of the West Virginia Statewide Assessment Program for 1999-2000. Student performance is reported for the Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition (SAT-9), the state Writing Assessment, ACT EXPLORE, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Results of all these assessments indicate that West…