In this essay, we explore the importance of state financial aid programs for both states and the students they serve. Effective state financial aid policy benefits from rigorous research that engages partners from a variety of roles, such as state agencies, legislative staff, and intermediary organizations. It also benefits from the engagement of…

The supposed gulf between curriculum development as it is practiced, and curriculum theory, may be an imaginary one, this article suggests. Textbook curriculum axioms are used to analyze Mississippi's Accountability and Instructional Management program, and it is found to be consistent with the theory taught in college classrooms. (DCS)

Examined the education indicators used in the "Quality Counts" report published by Editorial Projects in Education in 1998. Discusses the degree to which persuasive or normative uses stemmed from the value judgments being made on the basis of the indicator data. (SLD)

This chapter examines lessons learned by states that are using student unit record (SUR) data to improve outcomes for community college students and recommends steps states can take to strengthen their use of SUR databases to benefit students and communities. (Contains 1 exhibit.)

Suggestions for enhancing use of evaluation studies (i.e., state-level mental health programs) are presented. Steps for maximizing evaluation utilization include marketing, planning, and conducting the evaluation; developing/focusing policy questions; translating findings; and making people pay attention to the results. These are processes for…

This report describes the technical assistance rendered to the NIE-sponsored R&D Utilization Program (R&DU) by the contractor working with the NIE staff, the Center for the Study of Evaluation, and the seven R&DU projects, to develop cross-project instrumentation, develop mutually acceptable plans for data collection and analysis, and…

The integrated approach to facilitating student achievement undertaken by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) is described. The goal of SEDL's Programmatic Theme on Facilitating Student Achievement is to contribute to the improvement of programs and activities in the Southwestern Region for teaching reading, writing, and…

The National Postsecondary Education Cooperative has sponsored two working groups on student outcomes, one exploring the issue from a policy perspective and the other, from a data perspective. This report presents the results of the data perspective case studies, discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the "state of the art" in student…

The School Improvement Through Instructional Process (SITIP), an initiative undertaken by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), is described, and an evaluation of its progress from December 1980 through June 1982 is provided. Innovative teaching methods introduced by the SITIP project are described: (1) active teaching; (2) mastery…

This report on the state level use and application of the 1971-1977 Adult Performance Level (APL) study contains two reports: "Competencies for Adult Basic Education and Diploma Programs: A Summary of Studies and Cross-Reference of Results." by Joan Keller Fischer and "The APL Study: Science, Dissemination, and the Nature of Adult…

The Center for Educational Research and Evaluation of the University of North Carolina (Greensboro) has been contracted to propose standards, indicators of quality, data collection procedures, and instruments for the evaluation of Georgia public schools mandated by the state legislature. The development of these standards and indicators is…

A study examined the distribution, use, and effects of 30 research and development products to improve vocational education for handicapped learners. These research and development efforts were studied through a mail survey returned from 321 respondents, telephone interviews with 100 respondents, and case studies of seven sites where these…