This article reports the results of a preliminary study that applied a randomized posttest-only design to evaluate the effectiveness of a literacy curriculum that incorporated explicit opportunities for Spanish-speaking Head Start preschool children (N = 76) to develop writing abilities in English. The study also addressed English language…

This paper discusses the online Personal Learning Planner (PLP) project underway at the National Institute of Community Innovations (NICI), one of the partners in the Teacher Education Network (TEN), a 2000 PT3 Catalyst grantee. The Web-based PLP provides a standards-linked "portfolio space" for both works in progress and demonstration collections…

Rigorous research provides information that will allow other schools and districts to select interventions that have a scientifically based track record of effectiveness. All Striving Reader grants include the mandate to evaluate literacy intervention(s) targeted to adolescents who are reading significantly below grade level. Although all studies…

Over the past decade, a large body of literature has emerged on professional development, teacher learning, and teacher change. The research literature contains a mix of large- and small-scale studies, including intensive case studies of classroom teaching, evaluations of programs designed to improve teaching and learning, and surveys of teachers…

This study identified federal programs designed to assist people with disabilities, with a special emphasis on programs promoting employment. The study focused on the extent to which information, eligibility, and services were coordinated under these programs and the efficiency of federal programs in promoting employment among people with…

The Government Information Locator Service (GILS) is an innovative networked-based approach to assist users in locating government information resources. This document reports the results of an evaluation study begun in September 1996 and completed in June 1997. The goal of the study was to understand how: GILS serves various user groups; GILS…

This report summarizes a descriptive survey of fellowships awarded under the Library Education and Human Resource Development Program, Title II-B of the Higher Education Act of 1965. The study covered the years 1985-91 and was undertaken to determine the success of the fellows who were recruited into the training program, and to determine if their…

This report describes the programs provided by the Illinois Department of Public Aid and the initiatives that the department has begun to help welfare recipients find work and get off welfare rolls. Programs described include the following: (1) AFDC (Aid for Families with Dependent Children) Job Opportunities and Basic Skills program (JOBS), which…

Total quality management (TQM) is based on the fundamental philosophy that it is always more effective to do something right the first time than it is to correct deficiencies. It seeks to improve quality and increase customer satisfaction by restructuring traditional management and organizational practices. Common characteristics of TQM include…

The Cooperative Demonstration Program (High Technology) was the largest demonstration program supported under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act of 1984. The program funded projects to try new approaches, to increase access to high-quality programs for special populations, and to improve the overall quality of vocational education. An…

A follow-up study of 15 project offices (involving 50 administrative and support staff responses) was conducted to determine the progress of the American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation projects in addressing previously identified training and technical assistance needs, as authorized by Title 1, Part D, Section 130 of the Rehabilitation Act of…

This report documents the activities undertaken to evaluate the federally sponsored prekindergarten program for educationally disadvantaged preschoolers conducted by the Saginaw, Michigan school district. This program, funded by Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act, was serving 502 children at the beginning of the 1993…

This literature review examines the effectiveness of student financial aid in light of doubts raised about it at the start of the 1980s and subsequent cuts in federal support for student aid as a result of those doubts. The review has three objectives: to determine whether there are reasons to doubt the effectiveness of student aid; to determine…

This paper examines the issues arising when a set of federally funded model demonstration projects, the secondary curricula/student transition projects of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, were obligated by federal initiative to improve the amount, quality, and use of evaluation. These issues included: (1) the nature of…

A study assessed the role of program coordination in enhancing Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) program effectiveness and efficiency. Information was collected through a review of more than 100 reports on JTPA coordination, telephone interviews with staff from 60 JTPA coordination projects, and case studies of nine of the coordination projects.…