The Obama administration has offered states the chance to waive some requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. States are required, however, to make specific reforms in exchange for increased flexibility. The administration has been clear it wants states to engage in "ambitious but achievable" reforms rather than merely asking for a pass from…

This first of two reports presents early findings from the National Evaluation of the Comprehensive Technical Assistance Centers (Comprehensive Centers), a federally funded program that provides technical assistance to states in connection with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. The law authorizing the Comprehensive Centers, the…

The federal government has had a long-standing commitment to ensuring access of English Learner (EL) students to a meaningful education. As early as 1968, the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act" ("ESEA") contained provisions for supporting the education of EL students and in its 1974 landmark decision, "Lau v.…

In 1986 the Center for Policy Research in Education began a five-year study of state educational reform implementations and effects in six states (California, Arizona, Texas, Minnesota, Florida, and Georgia) chosen for their diverse approaches. Most efforts (not all successful) concentrated on increased academics, teacher professionalism, and…

In 1986, the Center for Policy Research in Education began a 5-year study of the implementation and effects of state education reforms in six states chosen for their diverse approaches: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. This issue contains material from an earlier CPRE report providing an interim assessment of…

During the early eighties, state responsibility for funding public education increased along with the dollars allocated to public education. The more aggressive states benefited from the period's rapid economic expansion. In part, educational reform was advocated due to the relatively low cost in new tax dollars. A healthy economy seems necessary…

Serious interest in reducing class size often begins with a key question: What available evidence would support the higher implementation costs? This article discusses positive results of a longitudinal statewide study in Tennessee (Project STAR) and uses findings to specify four guidelines for practitioners and policy makers. Evaluation plans…

The efforts of states to differentiate regulatory treatment among districts and schools are examined in this paper. Data were derived from case studies of four state programs: Kentucky's Educational Deficiency Program of receivership for troubled districts; New Jersey's Plan to Intervene in Deficient School Districts; South Carolina's Flexibility…

In recent years, many policy makers, including officials in the Federal Government and the National Governors' Association, have advocated public school choice as the answer to the problems of public education. In 1987, Minnesota was the first state to pass legislation implementing a statewide, interdistrict, open enrollment plan for public…

The School Breakfast Program (SBP) celebrates its 20th year in 1995. It is an entitlement program available to any public or nonprofit private school or youth home that chooses to participate. This report includes the latest available school-breakfast participation data for school year 1994-95, and compares it to similar data for the previous…

Examines three San Diego initiatives exemplifying innovative types of school-community partnerships: the executive-driven Hamilton Center social services model; the Crawford Cluster Connection, a family stabilization consortium that stressed professional collaboration; and the Central Elementary School multiethnic program, built on family…

Working with state education agency staff and higher education faculty, the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) attempted to assemble information about current state-developed teacher evaluation systems and future directions for teacher assessment. SREB states were trying to determine whether: (1) the same evaluation systems were being used…

This report by the Comptroller General to the United States Congress discusses the review made of the Department of Education's National Diffusion Network, particularly its efforts to improve Title I reading programs through information dissemination on exemplary projects. Chapter one examines the Department of Education's dissemination…

Interest is growing in planning and implementing new systems of holding child and family services accountable for results. The Results-Based Accountability (RBA) Project at the Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) has supported and built upon recent state efforts to develop these new accountability systems for child and family services. This…

A report on the process utilized by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) to develop standards for evaluating and approving professional preparation programs in physical education is given. CTC's efforts produced a list of standards, which is included, and a new comprehensive model for teacher preparation programs. (IAH)