Rural schools in the western region states of California, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada are facing enormous challenges due to major shifts in the demographics of the region. Rapid growth in student enrollment, particularly of minority and limited English proficient students, the increasing rate of rural poverty and homelessness, and a projected…

This report describes the process undertaken at Midland Technical College (MTC) for developing and implementing an institutional effectiveness assessment project using student outcomes measures as an integral part of the assessment methodology. First, the report presents the background to the project, reviewing MTC's involvement as a model…

Competence in interpersonal communication skills has been emphasized as a necessity among human service professionals and this emphasis has resulted in an increasing number of counseling psychology and counselor education programs including a course in interpersonal skills training as part of their curriculum. The purpose of this study was to…

The Transition to the World of Work program of the Albuquerque (New Mexico) Public Schools emphasizes developing functional skills and the ability to apply these skills outside the school. The ultimate goals of the program are to help students obtain meaningful, paid employment and function successfully in the community. The program provided…

This report describes the methodology used in an evaluation study to measure the effectiveness of the West End Special Education Local Plan Area's program for improving the transition of special needs students from secondary school into adult life. Goals of the San Bernardino, California, study included measuring students' quality of life upon…

A study examined the usefulness of one major strategy for helping teachers, administrators, and resource staff use research on bilingual instruction. The strategy studied was the Multi-District Trainer of Trainers Institute (MTTI) as implemented in California. The study's objectives were to: describe the MTTI design, content, delivery, and…

The New York City Staff Development Program for Bilingual and English as a Second Language (ESL) Teachers, funded by the Bureau of Bilingual Education of the New York State Education Department, was designed to serve third and fourth grade teachers who have up to 4 years of teaching experience and who are currently working with limited English…

This project report consists of several parts. The first section describes the project conducted to develop articulation agreements in vocational education between secondary and postsecondary institutions in Virginia. Outlines of the project's phases are provided; these include development of mini-project funding requests, awarding of funding,…

In 1976, the Montgomery County Public Schools began the development of a kindergarten through grade 8 Instructional Program in Reading/Language Arts (IPR/LA) for teaching the English language arts. Goals of the effort were to improve reading and listening comprehension instruction and to improve program consistency across grades, schools, and…

This report summarizes three years of evaluation research on the Army's Basic Skills Education Program. Two major sources were used to compile information about standard, pilot, revised, and developing basic skills programs: (1) data files from the Training and Doctrine Command, Enlisted Master File, and Defense Manpower Document Center; and (2)…

The Attendance Improvement Dropout Prevention (AIDP) program in New York City identifies and delivers services to middle school students who are excessively absent or otherwise at risk of dropping out. The AIDP program has the following components: (1) facilitation; (2) attendance; (3) guidance; (4) health; (5) school-level linkages; and (6)…

This volume of research papers presents ideas, information, and consensus statements on compensatory education effectiveness by some of the country's leading education researchers. Section one presents a summary of proceedings of the meeting at which the researchers submitted their papers to the Conference Panel and staff of the National…

As one of five field studies in the National Assessment of Chapter 1, this project studied the design and operations of the Chapter 1 program at the point of service delivery. Examination of the program at 24 schools revealed the following: (1) inflationary pressure on Chapter 1 budgets affected design decisions among schools; (2) cross-site…

This review of the status of junior high schools, prepared as a testimony for the Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary, and Vocational Education, argues that, despite the fact that early adolescence is a critical time in human development, schooling for young adolescents is the weakest link in the chain of public education. Middle and junior high…

Four of the policy statements for vocational education developed by the Wisconsin Board of Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education reflect concerns shared in the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education. First, vocational education is accountable to the publics, namely students, employers, and state, local, and…