This study examined the effectiveness of the first year of a project designed to support the use of computers to improve the writing skills of middle level students. Subjects, 2,285 students from all of the 16 school districts in Delaware, engaged in daily writing activities on computers using the process approach to writing. One teacher from each…

Evaluators usually assume that the data they receive are valid, or at least, that the data reflect that which is being evaluated. In a recent evaluation in a large southern school district, evaluators compared their raw interview notes with interview notes edited by the teachers interviewed or project staff. The program evaluated was Project SEED,…

This study was conducted to identify a difference between preschool teachers' and school-based administrators' perceptions of critical issues and the numerical ranking assigned to those issues in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' (North Carolina) Chapter 1 Preschool Program. The study tested three hypotheses, and sought to ascertain what teachers…

This chapter on designing and implementing effective staff development programs is taken from a guide to instruction and services for students with disabilities. The chapter focuses on assessment of staff development needs and identification of priorities for training. Staff development options are discussed in terms of formats (such as workshops,…

A staff-needs planning system was developed and tested in a Department of Social Services' Family and Children's Services Unit in a medium-sized county where caseworkers used no established strategy or planning method to facilitate accomplishment of all the job requirements. The goal of the study was to implement a planning system based on each…

The role of mentoring in the 2 + 2 Instrumentation and Control (I&C) articulation project between the Leander Independent School District (LISD) and Austin Community College (ACC) is discussed in this document. Following a brief history of the origin and function of the mentor, the paper explains the need for the mentoring system in the I&C…

This study assesses progress made by the states, as of 1990, in the implementation of the 14 components of Part H of Public Law 99-457, the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments, 1986. Fifty out of 51 jurisdictions completed the State Progress Scale, which contains items for each of the 14 components and determines the stages of policy…

To gain some perspective on the current interest in and use of educational technology, the Ohio Department of Education awarded a grant to the Cincinnati Public Schools to conduct a survey on the uses of new technologies in school districts throughout the state. The results of that survey are summarized in this report by the following topics:…

Project LIFE, which began in October 1987, was a model program that involved a coalition of community agencies in addressing the problem of adult illiteracy in a community college setting, enhancing participants' employability, and providing them with career adaptability. To improve outreach efforts, program planners made heavy use of commercial…

A comprehensive guide on learning to become a resident hall assistant (RA) is presented; it is directed purposefully toward the trainee, and is to be used in conjunction with a training session. Chapters include: (1) "Roles and Responsibilities of a Resident Assistant"--what the scope of the RA job involves, how to use this manual, and what RAs…

The purpose of this paper is to describe and illustrate the procedure for setting up a school-community relations program. The first chapter describes the following recommended components of such a program: using a programmatic approach, using the five school-community relations processes, and designating the primary responsibilities for the…

California's Pupil Proficiency Law requires each local school district to adopt standards of proficiency in the basic skills of reading comprehension, writing, and computation. Students are to be assessed in grades 4-11. Students not making sufficient progress towards meeting the district's standards are to be provided with remedial programs, and…

This document was produced by the authors based on their research for the report "What Works Where You Are? The Implementation of Training Packages in Rural Australia" [ED495190] and is an added resource for further information. The original report investigates the implementation of training packages in five rural communities, and the…

A study investigated the effects of a fine arts program on elementary school students relative to methods used, student development, student attitudes toward school, and student achievement and motivation to learn. After developing and implementing a 12-week integrated fine arts curriculum, 95 elementary school students' pre- and…

This study investigated factors impinging upon the successful implementation of reform in New Jersey's special needs or Abbott districts. Surveys of 28 Abbott districts examined the extent to which districts embraced remedial measures in the Supreme Court's rulings; perceived compatibility between remedial measures embodied in the reform and prior…