Educational technology products offer potentially effective means of supporting teaching and learning in K-12 classrooms. But for any given instructional need, there are likely to be numerous product options available for purchasing. What can school districts do to help ensure that good selections are made? In a recent, comprehensive study of…

The reauthorization of the U.S. Elementary and Secondary Education Act, referred to as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), emphasizes evidence-based interventions while giving states and districts new flexibility on the use of federal funds, including funds that could be used to support social and emotional learning (SEL). The authors review…

Social and emotional competencies are proving critical to students' success in the classroom and in life. Although the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) does not explicitly reference social and emotional learning (SEL), this legislation in fact offers opportunities to support school-based SEL interventions. How is SEL supported by ESSA? Which SEL…

To stem the tide of students dropping out, many schools and districts are turning to early warning systems (EWS) that signal whether a student is at risk of not graduating from high school. While some research exists about establishing these systems, there is little information about the actual implementation strategies that are being used across…

Physical education contributes to the physical, mental, and emotional health of young people. Administrators must recognize these contributions and ensure an effective program by evaluating and retraining teachers to keep abreast of the recent knowledge explosion in physical education. (CJH)

The Multicultural Education Quick Assessment Test (QAT), an abbreviated instrument for administrators, staff, parents, community members, and/or students who want to determine how their district is doing in multicultural education, is presented in this paper. An introduction discusses the importance of multicultural education. Instructions are…

Institutions are turning to marketing to combat the trends of declining enrollments, decreasing applicant pools, diminishing interest in traditional degrees, competition for students, and increasing costs. A marketing audit can analyze an institution's strengths and needs. (MLW)

A step-by-step method can determine whether training programs match the training needs as expressed by rated objectives. Trainers calculate the time devoted to each objective while the program users rate the importance of each objective. The match between importance and time is a measure of program efficiency. (LRA)

Suggests factors to be considered in planning a youth services department: (1) the public served; (2) kinds of materials included in the collection; (3) kinds of equipment available; (4) commitment to public service; (5) amenities for public comfort; (6) needs of library staff; and (7) integration of youth services into total library service. (MES)

A self-study of the English-as-a-Second-Language program at the English Language Institute at the Hawaii campus of Brigham Young University is reported. Lessons learned related to customizing guidelines, administrative support; feedback loops, creating implementation plans, including outsiders, etc. (23 references) (LB)

The student needs assessment in this study allows a unique insight into the availability, delivery, and effectiveness of high school career programs. The research provides data from a 19-item, Comprehensive Career Needs Survey, administered to 888, Southern Alberta grade 12 students. The students value career plans and the resources, both people…

This guide presents a capacity building framework and process for demonstrating and documenting prevention outcomes. Achieving Outcomes was developed by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) in response to requests from the prevention field for guidance in selecting and implementing science-based prevention programs. The guide is…

This paper assesses the current status and problems of the National Diffusion Network (NDN), a federally funded endeavor established to enable developers of educational programs to provide evidence that their programs improve student outcomes; and to disseminate their programs nationwide through a network of state facilitators. The study discusses…

One mandate of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 is that students develop a writing portfolio. The Kentucky Department of Education and AEL, Inc., collaborated to help schools discern areas for improvement in their writing programs, then developed a needs assessment process instrument, the School Study of Writing Instruction (SSWI). This…

This manual (and an accompanying video) is a literacy audit tool to help adult education practitioners find out how their clients and staff rate their organization's success in meeting the literacy needs of clients. The manual also contains background information about literacy and suggestions on how to use the literacy audit to help an…