The Obama administration has offered states the chance to waive some requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. States are required, however, to make specific reforms in exchange for increased flexibility. The administration has been clear it wants states to engage in "ambitious but achievable" reforms rather than merely asking for a pass from…

Outlines some of the factors related to the politics of planning at the Federal level in the United States and concludes that this is a wasteful and unproductive way in which to conduct a public service such as education. (Author/WM)

This summary evaluation report is designed to (1) give an indication of how the state achieves the goals of Federal programs; (2) increase understanding of various Federal programs; and (3) show the degree of achievement of the goals of the State-Federal Programs Division. The following programs are described: Adult Basic Education; Basic Skills…

The document analyzes monitoring procedures in use by other federal programs in an attempt to help the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped (BEH) develop its own procedures for waiver reviews. Waivers are explained as a request for exemption from P.L. 94-142's (the Education for All Handicapped Children Act) fiscal non-supplant requirements.…

The Job Opportunities and Basic Skills program (JOBS) is an ambitious federal effort at welfare reform but the federal government has given local operators little direction on how to run it. JOBS can be improved using existing evaluations and analyses of administrative data. Reform depends mostly on capable local administration. (JOW)

Special revenue sharing is a tool that can allow almost unlimited state flexibility in social service interventions, while primarily confining the federal role to the specification and measurement of national social service objectives. Goal specification and measurement procedures are crucial to the special revenue-sharing idea. Federally…

This book presents an extensive examination of the organization and operation of the Vermont model day care delivery system which was designed in the context of the proposed Family Assistance Plan (FAP). The model tested the ability of Federal and State employees to work together and share resources in designing a new approach to welfare reform.…

This document is a transcript of an oversight hearing on the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). It is the first in a series designed by the House Subcommittee on Employment Opportunities, Committee on Education and Labor, to evaluate the program. In his introduction, the subcommittee chairman voiced his concern about proposed budget cuts in…

The conclusions of the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) concerning the effects of consolidating federal categorical aid programs into block grant programs are presented in this report. The block grants reviewed were established before 1981 under the Partnership for Health Act, the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, the Comprehensive…

The Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), less than one year old, represents a promising start and demonstrates that Federal, State, and local governments can work together to help people with serious employment problems compete more effectively for jobs. (Author/MW)

This document details the changes that have occurred in the 95th Congress with respect to compensatory education and explores the implications of those changes with respect to Federal policy for compensatory education programs. The 93rd Congressional hearings on Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act are reviewed. Also described are…

To maximize freedom from personal and political conflicts of interest, decentralized mechanisms of federal program evaluations are needed. Block grants mean that state legislatures and governors will become more responsible for oversight of funds. Three proposals are presented for helping the states deal with these increased evaluation…

This report examines the effects of early efforts to link the Elementary Secondary Education Act's (ESEA's) Chapter 1 (now Title I) programs to state and district education reforms, which are standards-based. The report focuses on how Chapter 1 standards and accountability requirements connect with new state-level standards, curricula, and…

Evaluates the educational policy of the 1960's which recognized the responsibility of the states for the administration of public education and the federal responsibility for insufficient educational development, and exercised this responsibility by supporting public education. (Author/JM)

Analyzes the intentions and results of federal efforts to promote educational improvement over the past 25 years. Federal efforts are described in the following areas: block grant funding; requirements for local evaluation and planning; research, development, and evaluation; linkage; and targeted support for local improvement. (CT)