If schools rush into Back-to-Basics the way they once rushed into open education, educational quality will not improve and the positive, humanistic attributes of progressive education may be lost. Change must be slowly and carefully planned and provide adequate support to the teachers who must implement it. (SJL)

Suggestions are presented that are drawn from basic skills instruction at the English Learning Centre at Gloucestershire College of Arts and Technology (England), an open learning center geared specifically for ESOL students. Funded for 2 years as a special project by the Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit, the center examines procedures that…

This manual describes an effective, cost- and time-efficient approach to basic education and vocational training for adults. The approach was developed during a pilot project in Massachusetts that featured the following: capitalizing on students' interests, hands-on vocational training, the expectation that students' motivation to learn a…

This resource manual for administrators, supervisors, and teachers was developed to foster the effective use of the in-class instructional model in basic skills improvement (BSI) programs in elementary schools. Funded by federal, state, and local sources, BSI programs are designed to be coordinated with school districts' developmental programs to…

This report provides an overview of the competency-based education movement, discusses school administrators' concerns and attitudes concerning the competency movement, describes the experience of various school districts and states with minimum competency requirements, and presents practical guidelines for implementing minimum competency…

This two-part manual is designed to assist employers who desire to retain, promote, or retrain their limited-English-proficient (LEP) workforce to meet the challenge of training and adaptation to job restructuring. This document contains manuals for both English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) program developers and business/industry decision makers.…

This implementation guide describes the philosophy of BASICS, a set of integrated materials developed to assist teachers, administrators, and counselors in bridging vocational and academic skills. It provides guidelines and strategies in workshop format for implementing the program in a school. The guide is organized around three topics. The…

A summary of requirements and provisions of early childhood and basic skills programs and a framework for and the requisites of thorough and systematic planning which can be held accountable for what the student learns are provided in this document. A plan that clearly establishes criteria for what needs to be done and why, the actual planning…

This report is a summary of information from both research and experience about the assumptions and practices that guide successful basic skills programs. The 31 guidelines are basic to building a solid foundation on which effective instructional programs for adults can be developed. The first six guidelines address some important characteristics…

Issues associated with minimum competency testing are discussed: the national, state, and local context for MCT program development; MCT's potential impact; the use and development of MCT programs; and reactions to the testing programs. Presently, the federal role is described as limited to providing information, research support, and technical…

The Continuous Uniform Evaluation System (CUES) provides the means for Arizona school districts to demonstrate accountability for achieving the goal of assisting all public school students in Arizona to develop the basic skills of reading, writing, and computation. These suggested guidelines for the development and implementation of a continuous…

This monograph is part of OPTIONS, a packaged set of materials developed to provide postsecondary administrators, program planners, curriculum developers, counselors, and instructors with up-to-date, reliable information. This volume and two other monographs are intended to enable counselors and instructors to establish and conduct special…

This handbook contains guidelines for setting up a workplace literacy project through a partnership between business and an educational partner. It is based on the experiences of a workplace literacy partnership of Bakery Europa, Straub Clinic and Hospital, and the University of Hawaii. Information is provided on the following six topics: (1)…

This technical assistance guide is intended to aid teachers and trainers in Job Training Partnership Act Service Delivery Area (SDA) summer programs that are components of work force skill development programs for youths. It is aimed especially at SDAs that either are experiencing or anticipating resistance to change from their organizations,…

This guide is designed to lead program planners through the course of building and implementing a family literacy program. It provides planning teams with an orientation to a four-component model of family literacy, community resources, planning strategies, examples of programs in Missouri, recent research findings, case study vignettes, and…