Education is essential for solving the complex water-related challenges facing society. The Learning Enhanced Watershed Assessment System (LEWAS) and the Online Watershed Learning System (OWLS) provide data creation and data sharing infrastructures, respectively, that combine to form an environmental learning tool. This system collects, integrates…

The purpose of this study was to describe how states in the REL Central Region (Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming) evaluate teacher preparation programs and planned changes for evaluation. Publicly available documents were reviewed and interviews were conducted with state education agency representatives…

Data can help identify solutions to some of the biggest problems in schools. Yet few schools use data effectively. The purpose of this book is to help schools become aware of the advantages of collecting and using data (data analysis) for overall school improvement. The book begins with an overview of the current state of education and the…

To assess educational needs in the Pacific region, Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) identified 9 general education areas to be examined through 47 survey items. These items were presented as a questionnaire to educators in the region served by PREL, which includes American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,…

The Center for the Study of Evaluation at the University of California, Los Angeles, collaborated with school site personnel in an attempt to build an on-going, comprehensive, school-based information system useful in instructional decision making and general school renewal. Conducted at a suburban senior high school over an 18-month period, the…

This kit on the systems functions in Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member institutions contains 10 source documents from ARL libraries and a summary of data from a 1976 survey on the organization, staffing, and operation of library systems functions. Source documents include: (1) "Library Systems Office Annual Report, 1974-75"…

As required by the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 1990 (VATEA), a project was undertaken to develop an accountability system for New York State equity programs funded under sections 221 and 222 of the VATEA. This document profiles the resulting accountability system and serves as a guide for program staff…

The way that the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) should conduct its quality assurance function of monitoring a processing contractor is described. For the following quality assurance procedures, information is provided on the goal of the procedure, activities to be measured, measures, and the role of…

A framework for monitoring quality control (QC) of processor contracts administered by the Department of Education's Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) is presented and applied to the Pell Grant program. Guidelines for establishing QC measures and standards are included, and the uses of a sampling procedure in the QC system are…

This goal of this project was to create a public school district World Wide Web site that staff and community members would use more frequently. The project included three solutions. First, 33 one-on-one and small-group training sessions were conducted to increase awareness and improve Web services. A Web-site advisory committee, which developed…