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…

District Awards for Teacher Excellence (D.A.T.E.) is a state-funded program in Texas that provides grants to districts for the implementation of locally-designed performance pay plans. All districts in the state are eligible to receive grants, but participation is voluntary. As D.A.T.E. continues in its second year of operation with approximately…

This study used focus groups to create building blocks for the creation of a collaborative program consisting of a university and a school district for the preparation of principals. The focus groups of practitioners considered recommendations from researchers and applied it to the context of their experiences to develop the essentials of a…

This report focuses on the initial design, implementation and baseline results of the five-year Longitudinal Educational Growth Study (LEGS) of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) being conducted by the School Choice Demonstration Project (SCDP). The LEGS will be the first evaluation of the participant effects of the MPCP using…

Alternative programs in special education are often developed in response to chronic personnel shortages. At issue, however, is the quality of alternative programs and their graduates. This paper describes the design, implementation and evaluation of a large special education alternative certification program that adheres to both professional…

Describes an analysis of the possibilities open to the designer of class teaching materials based on the use of a microcomputer. Program design and use are related to the facilities the computer offers, aspects of teaching to which they contribute, and to the problems of making materials easy to use. (Author/CHC)

This study compares community service programs in nine Catholic high schools in Louisville (Kentucky). Information was gathered from a survey and follow-up interviews, and findings are organized into a chart essay. The following findings are included: (1) the schools represent a variety of governance and religious affiliation patterns; (2) all but…

Discusses design and evaluation issues relating to computer managed instruction (CMI). Major functions described include establishing identification database, processing performance data, report formulation, and utility functions. Evaluation issues discussed include customized versus generic CMI, user-friendliness, documentation, data entry…

The author defines community education and identifies those components which seem to facilitate an ideal relationship between a school and its neighborhood. Criteria for evaluating the community education emphasis of a particular school are included. This article is part of a theme issue on community education in Hawaii. (SJL)

The idea-centered freshman composition program at Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina, functions not only to meet the immediate needs of freshmen writers, but also to promote the aims of liberal education. The program has three interrelated goals: (1) to engage freshmen writers in "college thinking," defined as giving…

Established in 1956, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) was charged to acquire and preserve books, periodicals, prints, films, recordings, and other library materials pertinent to medicine. Since the establishment of the NLM, significant effort has been devoted to carrying out preservation responsibilities. In 1983, the Library Operations (LO)…

This paper describes the structured faculty mentoring program at the Pittsburgh Technical Institute (Pennsylvania), which is designed to provide a system of support for new faculty, who encounter many stressful situations on a daily basis, and provide guidance and encouragement. One of the primary goals of the program is to improve the quality of…

This TIP, on the best practice recommendations for the treatment of substance abuse, presents guidelines for ensuring continuity of care as offenders with substance use disorders move from incarceration to the community. Research indicates that treatment gains may be lost if treatment is not continued after the offender is released from…

A survey of 388 early intervention programs for hearing impairments found the number of children in the first year of life who are enrolled is lower than those enrolled in their second and third years and that parent-centered intervention and child-centered intervention is offered in the majority of programs. (Contains references.) (CR)

In their paper entitled "Why should postsecondary institutions consider partnering to offer (Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)?" the authors reviewed frequently asked questions they encountered from higher education professionals about IDAs, but as their research continued so did the questions. FAQ II has more in-depth questions and…