Head Start has long focused on assessing and improving program quality to ensure that the children served receive the best possible preparation for school and life. Most research has been focused inside the classroom--the classroom environment, teacher qualifications, and teacher interactions. Of course, the classroom is important because that is…

Head Start is the largest federal investment in early childhood education, serving nearly one million of our nation's most vulnerable young children and their families. It is the federal government's responsibility to make sure that these children and families get the highest quality services possible. Section 641(c)(1) of the Head Start Act…

Discusses the Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Head Start Quality and Expansion that will conduct an in-depth study to make recommendations on how to ensure that all Head Start programs provide high-quality services. Examines legislation having an impact on Head Start programs, including efforts to reduce the federal budget. (TJQ)

The major issue of educational quality is linked to the potential of national and state assessment programs. It is suggested that changes in assessment design, analysis, and reporting can significantly contribute to improvement in the policy development process. The California Assessment Program illustrates how state assessment information may be…

Reports of declining test scores and high school graduates who can't read or compute have triggered a public demand for higher standards in education. In light of this demand, National Assessment re-examined its role with respect to raising educational quality in this country. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) asked seven…

Historically, faith-based organizations (FBOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) have been involved in the provision of social services, such as drug treatment, job training, community redevelopment, housing, and education. However, FBOs and CBOs have not often participated in U.S. Department of Education (the Department) grant programs. In…

This study was designed to identify barriers that local Head Start staff believe limit their ability to provide quality services, the extent to which staff believe programs experience these barriers, and the techniques or approaches programs have used to overcome these barriers. It also sought to determine how Head Start programs use Quality…

Since vocational education is part of the secondary educational system, a system that is presently under close scrutiny and looking for ways to improve, it is appropriate to determine what the federal role might be in helping to achieve excellence in secondary vocational education. Federal policy has helped to shape secondary vocational education…

The tendency for bilingual education to remain locally-oriented and to resist outside input may impede its success. Unless the efforts to better instructional programs, teacher training, materials development, and evaluation improve soon, no amount of political or legal support may be able to sustain the movement. (Author/SJL)

In order to improve desegregation of the elementary schools, and the low achievement level of elementary schools with high concentrations of poor and minority students, the Massachusetts Board of Education placed a coordinated approach to improving urban schools first among its objectives. The following educational objectives were set for each…

Achieving good quality in Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) training is hampered by the lack of a common definition of quality. Five ideas have been consistent in definitions: targeting programs; long-term, in-depth training; basic education; work skills training; and supportive services and guidance. A definition must include suggestions on how…

This paper reviews the economic and political science literature, and the literature on Chapter 1/Title I in order to identify policy options that retain adequate fiscal accountability as well as insure program quality. Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 is the successor to Title I of the Elementary and Secondary…

Teacher preparation programs play an essential role in this nation's elementary and secondary education system, which relies on them to recruit, select, and prepare approximately 200,000 future teachers every year. Strong programs recruit, select, and prepare teachers who have or learn the skills and knowledge they need to be hired into teaching…

Recent studies of the effectiveness of the following types of job training programs were reviewed: mainstream job training (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act and Job Training Partnership Act programs); welfare-to-work; experimental; job training for specific population groups; and specific services. Special attention was paid to the…

A hearing was held to discuss the future of Project Head Start. Witnesses from corporations offered testimony supporting the strengthening of early childhood education, particularly Head Start, and urging the federal government to give increased attention to early childhood education. Subsequent testimony from experts, program directors, and…