Describes the institutional and programmatic context in which a consultant-evaluation visit was requested at Washington State University and the evaluators' recommendations and subsequent changes that have taken place. Lists five reasons for requesting an evaluation. (MG)

Responses from 67 of 88 prison faculty indicate that (1) they perceive correctional education to be equivalent to traditional education; (2) prison students are viewed as equivalent in intelligence and motivation as college students; and (3) difficulties include students' impulsiveness, intimidation, and wide range of abilities. (JOW)

This book contains strategies for effective literacy coaching of teachers in districts and schools. Whether it's your job to start a literacy coaching initiative or to be an effective literacy coach to your colleagues, this guide has all the steps and strategies you need: (1) Roles and responsibilities of literacy coaches; (2) Keys to building…

This commentary highlights the work of the Collaborative for Building After-School Systems (CBASS), a collaborative of mature, city and county-wide nonprofit OST intermediaries, to develop and adopt common youth-, program- and system-level measures that are easy and cost-effective for local systems to implement. By agreeing to adopt and publicly…

This article reports on a faculty development model that uses a variety of approaches and strategies to help faculty restructure their curricula and effectively model technology integration for their students. A multifaceted model, funded in part by the "Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology" (PT3) initiative, was implemented…

Regular participation in out-of-school time activities is associated with benefits for children. However, children cannot reap the benefits of program participation if they do not attend programs in the first place. This brief focuses on ways in which out-of-school time programs can improve the attendance and retention of children and youth in…

The Higher Learning Commission (HLC), a commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), accredits Wyoming's seven community colleges. Institutional accreditation is a voluntary process that serves the critical purposes of quality assurance and institutional and program improvement. Colleges that are accredited by the HLC…

First Step to Success is a manualized early intervention program with documented success in reducing the problem behavior of young children. Walker and colleagues (2005) are now engaged in analyses of variables that will increase the proportion of children for whom First Step is effective. A possible enhancement to the First Step to Success…

Preparing administrators with the capacity to improve instruction for all learners is critical for recruiting and retaining special education teachers. However, recent research points out the need to improve skills of current and future administrators for this role. To address these concerns the special education and administrator preparation…

This study is a mixed-methods case study of Antelope Valley High School (AVHS). AVHS was one of the first six schools in California to receive academic sanctions since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. It was also the first high school to receive a State Trustee who was embedded at the school every day for two school years. AVHS…

The Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT) was developed in response to a California State mandate (SB 2042), requiring teacher preparation programs to use performance assessments as one measure in making credentialing decisions. In this article, results are examined from statewide implementation of the PACT assessments during the…

The Wadena Public School District 819 (Minnesota) has a career education curriculum that includes the following: (1) emphasis on self-esteem, decision making, and work ethic integrated into other subjects in elementary schools; (2) increased emphasis on these areas in home economics, industrial arts, English, science, and mathematics in junior…

The Program Standards Evaluation System was developed in response to evaluation requirements in the 1973 Rehabilitation Act. The system includes procedures for using standards data to monitor and evaluate vocational rehabilitation (VR) service outcomes and outputs as well as standards on key procedural issues. These guidance materials, volume 3 of…

Questions about the effectiveness of parent programs are addressed in this paper, which is based on the premise that an important step toward improvement is the identification and clarification of assumptions which prompt and sustain specific program structure and operations. Selected major assumptions about the ways in which programs attempt to…

This secondary vocational guidance planning handbook is designed for secondary school personnel who want (1) to start a vocational guidance program, (2) to assess their vocational guidance services, (3) to expand or diversify their vocational guidance services, (4) to gather ideas for new vocational guidance activities. The first of three major…