In February 1998, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) developed and published a report called "An Action Strategy for Improving Achievement in Mathematics and Science" which laid out a series of strategies for improving achievement in mathematics and science. To facilitate the implementation of some of…

In their search for new ways to assess their agencies' success in working with children and families, child welfare administrators and senior managers are increasingly seeking regular and reliable sources of information that help them evaluate agency performance, make ongoing decisions, and provide an accurate picture for agency staff and external…

In anticipation of the 35th anniversary of Project Head Start, the National Head Start Association (NHSA) launched a national initiative to discover how Head Start can best serve children and families in the new millennium. A series of hearings and open forums were conducted throughout the country in 1999, along with a special session featuring…

The restructuring of the Job Corps and its integration with other manpower programs is described. (BH)

This analysis of the role of testing in educational programs and services maintains that the connection between tests and instruction is best made integrally through an understanding of the design of learning tasks rather than through linkage. The context for, use of, and limitations of task structures are described. (Author/CM)

Public vocational education is described and the strengths and weaknesses of the program are examined. Alternative roles of the federal government are discussed and recommendations are made for increasing the effectiveness of vocational education. Federal support is viewed as being essential for program improvement of vocational education. (Author)

Reviews the role of accreditation in American higher education and shortcomings related to its inconsistency and lack of rigor. Discusses the 1996 creation of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) to oversee accreditation activities. Describes CHEA's organizational structure and analyzes its impact on accreditation and educational…

Reports on a 6-year study and project in Ohio that visited schools to evaluate their guidance programs, implemented revitalization ideas into 10 programs, and evaluated and disseminated the results. Presents eight essential actions for revitalizing guidance programs. (SR)

The following dimensions for effective reaction evaluations as a tool in training program evaluations are described: program objective(s)/content; program materials; delivery methods/technologies; instructor/facilitator; instructional activities; program time/length; training environment; planned action/transfer expectation;…

The deluge of early child development research over the past 20 years has sparked an unprecedented public interest in the first years of children's lives. Research indicates that quality early education promotes the overall development of a healthy child. The Desired Results System, a standards-based accountability initiative of the California…

Purpose: This paper sets out to examine methods that can be used to enhance the quality and consistency of dissertation assessment. Design/methodology/approach: The paper includes a review of literature on quality, consistency and criteria of dissertation assessment to highlight the current practices in higher education. A case study approach was…

Peer mentoring programs are designed to address problems experienced by new students to assist them in making the transition to university study. The University of New South Wales offers such a program to new undergraduate students. Feedback on the program is obtained from participants through questionnaires and is used to identify problems and to…

The research's purpose was to examine how exemplary community college study abroad programs assisted student participants in acquiring global competence. Three research questions were explored: (1) What issues need to be anticipated when planning a study abroad program for community college students in order to effectively incorporate…

Background/Context: Research on after-school programs has traditionally focused on those programs serving students in younger grades but found positive correlations between student participation in enriching after-school activities and school engagement. For older students, particularly teenagers, there tends to be lower participation. Research…