In Canada, in-depth evaluations of federal programs are intended to occur every 5 years. As such, evaluation is a periodic retrospective (lag) indicator examining results achieved versus program objectives. In a Canadian context, stand-alone evaluations have proved challenging to implement, time consuming, and not well adapted to annual management…

As part of the "American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009," the U.S. Department of Education sponsored the "Race to the Top" competition to encourage education reforms anchored in improving teacher effectiveness as a driver for improving student-achievement outcomes and closing achievement gaps. The New York State…

This article offers an analysis of the origins, evolution, and impact of the Obama administration's Race to the Top (RTTT) competitive grant program and places it in the broader context of the debate over the No Child Left Behind Act and the shifting intergovernmental relations around education. RTTT is fundamentally about two things: creating…

In emergency management, scientific models are widely used for running hazard simulations and estimating losses often in support of planning and mitigation efforts. This work expands utility of the scientific model into the response phase of emergency management. The focus is on the common operating picture as it gives context to emergency…

At least one million community-college students are denied access to federally guaranteed student loans because their institutions do not participate in the federal programs. This article describes the results of a study by the Project on Debt, a nonprofit advocacy group, which found that one in 10 community-college students, including one in five…

Summarizes the first phase of a federally funded study of 157 clearinghouses that store data on human services. Factors addressed include the tasks of a clearinghouse, its potential for overlap, its relationship to its parent organization, the types of product and services it provides, and how it uses its database. (FM)

This study is the fourth in a series of studies conducted by the American Association of School Administrators on the impact of the economic downturn on schools. AASA launched the series in fall 2008 in response to state budget shortfalls, federal buy-outs and interventions, and a series of additional events characterizing a slowing, stagnant…

The University of California Research Management Improvement Project (RMIP) was initiated to point out federal requirements and their impacts on the educational institution. The findings are contained in nine separate reports covering case flow; environmental health and safety; federal procurement requirements; financial management: budgeting and…

Program changes inherent in the CETA concept have markedly decreased the effectiveness of previous program management and liaison strategies. Some reasons for this decrease and a new set of skills for working at the interface between prime sponsors and subcontractors and/or the regional offices are presented. (Author)

THE DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS NECESSARY TO DEVELOP A FEDERAL-LEVEL, VOCATIONAL EDUCATION INFORMATION SYSTEM (VEIS), WERE PRESENTED IN THIS MANUAL. BASIC DESIGN ELEMENTS WERE DETERMINED BY STUDYING THE FEDERAL VOCATIONAL EDUCATION REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH STATE AND BY EVALUATING A NUMBER OF IMMEDIATE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS WITHIN THE FEDERAL…

PPBS is a way to improve the methods used in planning, programing, budgeting, and evaluating Federal programs. Careful analysis of proposed expenditures and investments are an explicit part of the PPB system. The process of examining various alternatives in order to assure efficient and effective allocation of resources is known as cost analysis.…

An intergovernment program implementation framework is shown to be strongly affected by the way federal expectations and administrative actions interact with the state and local education agency programs. They can influence the components of categories of implementation factors, process variables, and the agency role orientations. (CM)

DIFFICULTIES ARE ENCOUNTERED WHEN COST-BENEFIT ANALYSES ARE APPLIED TO EDUCATION. THERE ARE PROBLEMS IN THE ATTEMPT TO DEFINE AN EDUCATIONAL GOAL AND IN THE ANALYSIS OF EDUCATIONAL PROCESSES. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS NOW ENGAGED IN A MULTITUDE OF PROJECTS DESIGNED TO COORDINATE RESEARCH IN EDUCATIONAL IMPROVEMENT. THIS ENTAILS CONTINUED…

Education as such is not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, and public education has been the responsibility of State governments. In practice, the public schools have been operated by local communities and financed primarily by taxation of real property. U.S. Government acquisition of property for military use, defense production, and other…

The General Accounting Office reviewed the eligibility requirements and annual operating cycles of 38 programs providing employment training (ET) assistance to economically disadvantaged, older, younger, and dislocated workers at a cost of $8.1 billion. The review confirmed that conflicting eligibility requirements and differences in annual…