In 2011, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation created the Project Mastery grant program to support competency-based education initiatives in large school systems that serve a high proportion of disadvantaged youth. Competency-based education meets students where they are academically, provides students with opportunities for choice, and awards…

An introductory section providing background information on the Virginia Department of Education's (VaDOE) pilot education project for 4-year-olds is followed by discussion of the project and its evaluation. Discussion also concerns the forms of collaboration that are likely to increase the use of data by three classes of information users,…

To gather descriptive data regarding basic characteristics of existing standardized programs and to determine the extent to which the programs have been adopted and replicated following their initial development, a questionnaire was designed and sent to the developers of 20 standardized behavior intervention programs serving normal and moderately…

Analyzes site-based management structures, using specific case of teacher unions and collective bargaining. From coalitional perspective, interview data suggest that teacher union leaders may be in a quandary, shifting between traditional "bread and butter" issues and professional/collegial concerns. A struggle exists involving the…

Examines the limits of what constitutes "school improvement." Critically assesses whether large-scale reorganization initiatives in two (British) local education agencies embody elements of a school-improvement initiative. Policy makers could maximize such initiatives' potential by incorporating a school-improvement focus into their…

A survey of 145 schools found that all had experimented with innovative purchasing approaches. Many used electronic methods, such as credit-card, fast-track requisition (most popular), bidding and purchasing, and data interchange. Results suggest that nonelectronic innovations (just-in-time, cooperative, direct, and consortium leverage purchasing)…

This research determined the extent of implementation and the perceived effectiveness of evaluation practices required by federal legislation for vocational education. The respondents reported they have either fully implemented or are in the process of implementing the mandated evaluation activities and indicated a high level of usefulness of the…

Results are reported from an investigation of the implementation and effects of The Adaptive Learning Environments Model (ALEM), a program designed to provide special education services for mainstreamed handicapped students in regular classroom settings on a full-time basis. ALEM includes components of prescriptive instruction with informal…

Reports the results of a study investigating career choices and relevant history of gifted students chosen as 1964-1968 Presidential Scholars. Offers some practical suggestions as to how a career education program for the gifted can be successfully implemented by any local school district. (CT)

Reviews the OFSTED (Office for Standards in Education) school inspection system, based on interviews with 37 teachers at 6 Welsh secondary schools. Inspections emphasize judgment at the expense of advice and can be unnecessarily stressful. The process could be improved by giving shorter periods of notice, reducing required documentation, providing…

Describes a method for coding themes directly from audiotapes without transcription and issues and methods by which reliability can be established. A study of concerns of professionals being trained on 11 school-based support teams coded by 2 raters and based on 19 hours of audiotaped interviews illustrates the method. (SLD)

This report on competency testing utilizes a literature review, examines the state of the art to define competencies, and presents information from the field to delineate programmatic and administrative questions and their implications. Information was collected from school districts implementing minimum competency testing (MCT) programs through…

An outline and example of a field-based program implementation evaluation model and rating scale are described. Teacher, parent, and other influences on the implementation level of the program are discussed. Multiple measures are provided as sources of implementation data. (CM)

Describes use of the Knowledge Use System, originally developed as a tool for corporate market research to overcome obstacles to implementation, in a higher education setting to delineate decision-maker variables and characteristics that may impede the utilization of evaluation results. Implications for future research and for higher education are…

Describes treatment activities at the Boys Town Emergency Shelter Program for runaway and homeless youths. An examination of data collected from 100 shelter users indicated a high number of teaching interactions between staff and youths high levels of youth satisfaction with the staff; and a low frequency of youth disruptive behaviors in the…