While Elizabeth Barrett Browning counted 25 ways in which she loves her husband in her poem, "How Do I Love Thee? Let me Count the Ways," we identified only eight ways to evaluate the potential for success of a federal research grant proposal. This may be surprising, as it seems upon initial glance of the review criteria used by various…

Imagine students attending colleges and universities around the country having their financial needs met without the use of federal loans, Pell Grants, and higher education tax credits. In "Starting from Scratch: A New Federal and State Partnership in Higher Education," New America's Higher Education Policy Program shares its vision for…

The National Science Foundation Act of 1950 directs the Foundation "to initiate and support basic scientific research and programs to strengthen scientific research potential and science education programs at all levels." NSF achieves its unique mission by making merit-based awards to researchers, educators, and students at approximately…

Magnet schools offer special courses of study in order to attract students of different racial backgrounds. The Magnet School Assistance Program was authorized by Congress to provide funds to school districts for planning and promoting magnet schools. Eligible school districts desiring such assistance submit annual applications to the Secretary of…

The Dade County Public Schools (Florida) Department of Basic Skills (DBS) computer education program was evaluated. Education Consolidation Improvement Act (ECIA) Chapter II funds were sought for maintenance of existing school computers; establishment of software consortium; and the acquisition of additional microcomputer equipment. The project…

The Chapter 2 (Educational Block Grant) program of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA), which became effective on July 1, 1982, aims to improve elementary and secondary education (including pre-school education) for children attending both public and private schools. Two major goals are the following: (1) to provide flexibility…

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…

Following an introduction by Betty J. Turock, nine reports examine key issues in library evaluation: (1) "Output Measures and the Evaluation Process" (Nancy A. Van House) describes measurement as a concept to be understood in the larger context of planning and evaluation; (2) "Adapting Output Measures to Program Evaluation"…

Options and alternatives for an amended reauthorization of Chapter 1 grants are reviewed. New suggestions are presented for compensatory education service delivery, eligibility, and the allocation of resources. The choices, each of which is examined in detail in this report, include the following: (1) change the methods by which non-public schools…

A study evaluated the use of the request for proposal (RFP) process as a method of distributing federal vocational education and job training funds in Minnesota. Thirty-seven employees of Minnesota technical colleges, community-based organizations, service delivery areas, and state agencies who had actually prepared proposals requesting Job…

Fourteen appendices are gathered in this companion volume to a report summarizing the second year of a 3-year evaluation project focusing on three Utah programs funded under Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The appendices all relate to one of the three programs, Title IV-Part C (IV-C), which allocates funds for the adoption…

The implementation of a legislative mandate to promote innovation in postsecondary education through the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) is analyzed. Attention is directed to how this highly discretionary program successfully translated policy goals into grants practices. The values of two implementation strategies…

Summarizing the second year of a 3-year evaluation project, this nine-chapter report focuses on three Utah programs under Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The first program, Title IV-Part B (IV-B), provides funds for local education agency (LEA) purchases of educational materials and equipment; the second, Title IV-Part C…

The federal government's more than thirty-year attempt to solve the problems of poverty--in particular, the diminished life chances of children from low-income households--has been, according to these authors, largely unsuccessful. Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 is, and has been, the most heavily funded…