Between 2012 and 2018, the U.S. Department of Education invested nearly $350 million in 22 Comprehensive Technical Assistance (TA) Centers that operated across the nation. These Centers were charged with delivering TA that builds the capacity of state education agencies (SEAs) to support local education agencies in improving student outcomes.…

Between 2012 and 2018, the U.S. Department of Education invested nearly $350 million in 22 Comprehensive Technical Assistance (TA) Centers operating across the nation. These Centers were charged with delivering TA that builds the capacity of state education agencies (SEAs) to support local educational agencies (LEAs) in improving student outcomes.…

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, previously called the Food Stamp Program) is a key component of the U.S. social safety net. SNAP is the only social safety net program universally available to low-income Americans, and is intended to help families meet their basic nutritional needs. It can also help to stabilize the economy…

This evaluation, which focuses on the capacity-building mission of the Comprehensive Centers, was designed to add to the findings of the previous national evaluation of the Comprehensive Centers Program. That evaluation, completed in 2011, used survey data, structured interviews, and rating scales to analyze the extent to which State Education…

Since the first child care Quality Rating System (QRS) was implemented in Oklahoma 11 years ago (in 1998), 16 additional statewide systems have been launched and numerous states are piloting or developing a QRS (Zaslow, Tout, & Martinez-Beck, forthcoming). As QRS stakeholders across the nation look ahead to the next decade, it is important to take…

Until the past few years, our nation's approach to designing federal programs for preschool-age children lacked coherence and paid little attention to what had worked (and not worked) in the past. In this article, the authors propose that credible information useful for designing effective programs will require the ongoing, systematic development…

The concept of collaboration, which underlies the design and structure of the Teacher Center Policy Board, has been widely accepted as an effective mechanism, but this acceptance is to a large degree without sound basis. A number of assertions can be supported about the ineffectiveness of collaboration: (1) collaboration in teacher education is…

In the current implementation of the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, there are lessons to be learned from past higher education loan programs, better ways to administer these programs and direct loans, and points to remember as direct loans are implemented. Current guaranteed student loan programs have been the subject of scrutiny recently…

Audiences were surveyed at the federal, state, and local levels in an effort to determine how the National Assessment of Educational Progress could be made more useful in meeting their needs. Recommendations fell into several major categories: (1) increased dissemination of assessment materials and access to data; (2) increased data interpretation…

As part of the activities establishing the National Institute of Education, a Planning Unit evolved to obtain advice from experts on the objectives, activities, and organizational structure of the new organization. The Planning Unit studies include this paper which traces the nature and evolution of Federal program development in education…

This State Policy Update provides background on professional development (PD) in adult education. Section 2 describes survey methods used to document how states funded and designed their PD systems. Section 3 reviews data collected by the survey of state PD systems, highlighting PD activities in Kentucky, New York, Oregon, and Tennessee. It…

This publication is a guide with the materials necessary for leading a workshop session on comprehensive needs assessment for Chapter 1 programs for teachers and administrators. As the packet points out, secondary and elementary schools with Chapter 1 programs often do comprehensive needs assessment to satisfy federal regulations or to record…

This publication is a guide with the materials necessary for leading a workshop session on a method for Chapter 1 program improvement that involves teachers and administrators. The "For the Children" approach to program improvement offers a plan for bringing together the people who are responsible for implementing the program that has…

At the end of September, 1978, 37,000 low-income youths in seventeen competitively selected communities across the country were enrolled in Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Projects which guaranteed them a part-time job during the school year and a full-time job during summer months on the condition that they remain in, or return to, a secondary…

A study was conducted to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of federally funded work force development programs, such as employment and training programs. Information, including budget data for fiscal years 1999 and 2000, was gathered on federally funded employment and training programs for which a key program goal is providing assistance…