The purpose of the "State of the Literacy and Essential Skills Field" report is to provide an environmental scan showing the state of Literacy and Essential Skills (L/ES) across the country, from the perspective of the Canadian Literacy and Learning Network (CLLN) and its national network of partners, both within and outside the Literacy…

Among the many questions raised by minimum competency testing is the question of responsibility for the initiation and financing of these tests and any necessary remediation. The federal role is, and should remain, merely one of providing financial assistance to states who insist on pursuing their own efforts in this area. (Author/RLV)

The Education Amendments of 1978, Part B of the Elementary Secondary Education Act Title IX were implemented because of the growing concern about illiteracy, test score decline, and educational accountability. They establish funds and technical assistance to state and local education agencies for program implementation and test development. Both…

In this keynote address, the author introduces several topics of concern for participants in a workshop on competency-based adult education (CBAE). First, he defines four basic terms: adult performance level, minimum competency testing, comptency-based education, and competency-based adult education. Then he reviews the historical background of…

The High School Public Law 89-313 Instructional Support Program was designed to enhance the education of handicapped high school students who were formerly enrolled in state-operated or state-supported settings prior to being transferred to a New York City public school. Eligible students are those with handicapping conditions who may be…

During the 1980s, the issues that emerge concerning the public and federal interest in education will include the extent of education to be provided at public expense; the relative share of that fiscal burden to be borne by local, state, and federal revenue sources; public funds for nonpublic schools; equal access to education for all students;…

This paper discusses two examples of federal agencies which administer laws fundamental to the protection and advancement of the educational interests of minority children: the Office for Civil Rights, and the Division of Education for the Disadvantaged. Provisions of these laws can be construed as protective standards which may provide the major…

For the 1986-87 school year, the Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) allocated its Education Consolidation Improvement Act (ECIA) Chapter 2 Formula and Carry-over funds to nine desegregation-related programs: (1) Bus Monitors; (2) Extracurricular Transportation; (3) Outdoor Learning; (4) Peer Assistance and Leadership; (5) Project…

This document contains testimony, prepared statements, letters, and supplemental materials submitted during two days of hearings held in September, 1977. Under consideration was a bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require state educational agencies to establish basic standards of educational proficiency applicable…

Collected in this volume are the papers presented at the 1978 Chief State School Officers Summer Institute. The program was devoted to political issues in education and focused on a number of current educational problems. Political issues were discussed in relation to a number of areas, including federal education priorities, federal-state…

This newsletter reports on the activities of Equipped for the Future (EFF), which is a National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) initiative that develops content standards to ensure that every adult can gain the knowledge and skills needed to fulfill real-world responsibilities as workers, parents, and citizens. A message from the NIFL…