This issue brief is one in a series examining timely topics that are relevant to Black families and children in the United States. The series identifies key information and opportunities for consideration by policymakers, researchers, practitioners, philanthropists, and others interested in supporting the progress of Black families and…

Discusses the role of the national values of efficiency, choice, and equity in the adoption and implementation of the federal education block grant program and the negative effects on school desegregation. Urges policymakers to consider policy goals, and not just policy instruments, when considering future proposals. (FMW)

Based on a local site sample of 146 school districts, this volume (the second in a series of 10) describes school improvement efforts supported by 4 different federal strategies and representative programs: interpersonal linkage of validated practices (National Diffusion Network), commercial distribution (Bureau of Education for the Handicapped…

Chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) of 1981 consolidated 28 separate federal education programs into a single block grant. This report evaluates the effectiveness of Chapter 2 as public policy, assessing whether it has led to improvement in education, whether the consolidated programs are more responsive to…

This study was conducted (1) to determine the effects of the change, under Chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA), from categorical grants to block grants in the District of Columbia, and (2) to compare these local effects with the findings of other nationwide studies. The first half of the paper is a review of reports…

When federally funded categorical programs for educational equity converge at the school level, difficulties such as resource competition tend to arise. This study addresses interference (categorical and core local program conflicts) and cross-subsidy (categorical fund misuse) problems at district, school, and classroom levels in terms of…

This paper traces the evaluation requirements of the Title I/Chapter 1 Program since 1966 to the present, discusses the implications of the evaluations, and reports on the evolution of evaluation during this 20 year period. The evaluations are described in four phases: (1) from a nadir of low quality, utility and precision (1966-1974); (2) to a…