The purpose of this report is to provide readers with a comparative analysis of the Massachusetts workforce "system" structures and performance reporting processes compared to other states. Though the federal workforce development system is often examined in its entirety and individual state systems are at times examined independently,…

Most experts in the testing community have presumed that the $350 million promised by the U.S. Department of Education to support common assessments would promote those that made greater use of open-ended items capable of measuring higher-order critical-thinking skills. But as measurement experts consider the multitude of possibilities for an…

The feasibility of incorporating teletraining into a statewide staff development program was examined in a comparison of four training approaches: traditional instruction and audio instruction enhanced with either slides, videocassettes, or slowscan. The training population consisted of directors and caregivers from Head Start and state-subsidized…

The Florida Interlibrary Loan Improvement Project (FILIP), initiated in 1979 by the Florida State Library to examine and analyze the interlibrary loan patterns and problems of the Florida Library Information Network (FLIN), compared the use of the OCLC Interlibrary Loan subsystem as a mode of communication between FLIN member libraries to the use…

The Employment Training Panel (ETP) contracted with California State University-Northridge to review the fixed fee structure ETP used to pay contractors for training provided under ETP. Three research questions were investigated: what other institutions use the fixed fee and what they pay for; whether ETP's fixed-fee rates were reasonable in…

Results from an evaluation of 11 academy programs in California high schools designed to reduce dropout rates in the state are reported for 1987-88. Results of the matched comparison study were generally positive, and the estimated net economic benefit from dropout prevention for 327 students was 1 to 1.3 million dollars. (SLD)

This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of three methods for promoting use of materials developed by the Texas Nutrition Education and Training (NET) program for use in elementary schools. The methods are: (1) teacher workshops; (2) turnaround sessions; and (3) simple notification. Kindergarten and third grade classes in Austin…

The feasibility and relative costs of four telecommunication systems for delivering university courses to distant locations in Colorado were compared. The four systems were compressed video, vertical blanking interval video, satellite video, and audiographic systems. Actual costs to install and operate each for a 5-year period were determined,…

To determine the cost/benefit relationship between education, incarceration, and welfare, a comparison was undertaken of the actual institutional costs required to produce an associate degree graduate at Miami-Dade Community College (M-DCC), in Florida, and the institutional costs of incarceration and welfare in the state. Costs analyses were…

The original National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has been criticized for its limited ability to provide information that is useful at a variety of levels. As a result, Congress authorized a voluntary NAEP Trial State Assessment Program for the assessment of mathematics at grade 8 in 1990, reading at grade 4 in 1992, and mathematics…

The California Employment Training Panel (ETP), which was designed as a performance-driven training program, pays agencies for training provided only if the trainee is placed and retained in a related job for 90 days. The labor market experience of ETP trainees was tracked from 1989-90, 1990-91, and 1991-92 to measure the impact of ETP training on…

Findings from the evaluation of the AB 3059 alternative child care programs are presented in this report. (AB 3059 child care programs were mandated by the California legislature in 1976 with the goals of assessing features that might reduce child care costs, ensuring maximum parental choice among facilities, addressing unmet child care needs…

This study examined State University of New York (SUNY) costs for support services to students, focusing particularly on why SUNY's costs are higher than those of similar states and where more efficiency might be achieved. The study involved the following elements: analysis of service costs for all SUNY campuses for fiscal year 1989-90; six visits…

A study compared the cost effectiveness of secondary child care and commercial foods occupational home economics programs in Kentucky. Identified as dependent variables in the study were program effectiveness, cost efficiency, and cost effectiveness ratio. Program expenditures, community size, and program age were considered as independent…

As a part of Ohio's program review and evaluation of vocational education, the report is concerned with a study of the costs of operating vocational education programs throughout the State. A cost analysis system for secondary level vocational education instructional programs was developed in 1970 and has been restudied each succeeding year. The…