The issue presents four articles on autism. The first, "Current Issues in Programming for Autistic Children and Young Adults" by Bruce Balow, examines six issues which touch upon such aspects as definitions, identification, placement, treatment style, programs needed, cost effectiveness, and influence on policy and politics. The second…

Updating a similar booklet published in 1975, this guide is written to assist local school districts in organizing their energy conservation efforts to maintain vital services and programs and to provide the healthful, safe, and comfortable physical environment necessary for schools. Topics covered include the composition of the district energy…

The items featured in this annotated bibliography touch on several aspects of the multifaceted class-size debate. Allen Odden reviews the literature and contends that class-size reduction should be used "sparingly and strategically." C. M. Achilles and colleagues examines two different class-size situations and find student test…

The seven articles in this edition show that cost-benefit analysis is emerging from the confusion of the 1980s and is probably going to become the central tool of program evaluation in the future. The modern approach involves incorporating probability distributions into the cost-benefit analysis. None of the articles are specifically…

Described is a microcomputer laboratory at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, which provides easy access to non-volatile memory and a single input/output file system for 16 microcomputer laboratory positions. A microcomputer network that has a centralized data base is implemented using the concepts of computer network…

Project RISE (Regional In-Service Education) is an inservice center serving teachers, administrators, support staff and parents in central Connecticut. It began in 1976 with state funding, and serves 500 teachers in nine rural and small town districts. An initial needs assessment provided a basis for planning and responding to individual teachers'…

The second in a series of four publications on energy conservation, this booklet suggests energy-saving strategies that can be developed and implemented at the program and operational levels or that involve changes to the physical plant and its operating system. The strategies include variations in scheduling, techniques for cutting waste in…

This newsletter double issue is totally devoted to this report. The report presents an overview of recent policy changes related to job training and education for welfare recipients. It also presents the findings of research on several types of job training programs, discusses the data on the economic value of basic and higher education, and…

Concepts of costs and cost analysis in higher education are examined, along with how to prepare for a cost study. Specific cost analysis techniques are identified, along with types of data generated and potential problems. In preparing for cost studies, it is important to consider: purpose, types of cost analysis, types of cost, common…

The major steps a college should undertake in contracting for services, including the initial determination as to whether or not contracting is the best way to provide a particular service, are described. Three general activities that apply to decisions about contracting in most circumstances are: investigating service characteristics; identifying…

Work-Based Learning (WBL) has been at the heart of school-to-work initiatives in the 1990s. Local partnerships funded by the 1994 School-to-Work Opportunities Act are placing high priority on developing WBL opportunities for students. However, there is still controversy about whether work really contributes to students' education, and results of…

Careful demographic forecasting provides schools with crucial information they require to plan effectively to meet future needs. The overview of general population trends that begins this document includes a detailed description of factors that influence demographic predictions. Changes in ethnic groups in general and Hispanic, Black, and Asian…

A discussion of contemporary issues in Australian study centers for distance education students introduces six case studies which show how some institutions in Australia have endeavored to set up study centers or "borrow" existing local facilities to provide a measure of support for their students. Attempts to set up a telecommunications…

After a brief introduction identifying current issues and trends in research on class size, this brochure reviews five recent studies bearing on the relationship of class size to educational effectiveness. Part 1 is a review of two interrelated and highly controversial "meta-analyses" or statistical integrations of research findings on…

To help administrators improve school efficiency in a time of financial constraints, this document reviews research on school productivity, points out possible improvements suggested by the research, and discusses several problems in measuring school costs and effectiveness. The author first explains the analytical concepts of school productivity,…