Few would argue against the idea of planning and implementing improvements to the nation's schools. This report contends, school improvement planning processes have frequently not been conceived in ways likely to produce desired learning outcomes for many students. The analyses presented in this report focus on a lack of attention to how schools…

In June of 1998, Proposition 227 was passed by 61 percent of the California electorate. The initiative was intended to significantly alter the ways in which the state's English learners (ELs) are taught. Proposition 227 requires that ELs be taught "overwhelmingly in English" through sheltered/structured English immersion (SEI) programs…

This book examines the various components of hospital, residential, and outpatient treatments for children and adolescents with mental disorders. Options and settings for residential care are presented, including the principles and practical issues, such as providing continuing education, that underlie the decision making for placement of youth in…

The evaluation reviews the implementation of the "Crossroads Cafe" English language instruction program in Florida, focusing on the program's management, training, and overall effectiveness as measured by its impact on adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers and learners. "Crossroads Cafe" is a series of videotape…

A study evaluated the Kentucky statewide school-to-work (STW) system through surveys of 633 K-12 teachers, phone interviews with 395 employer-participants in STW activities, and 328 randomly drawn employers. Data analysis identified six themes relevant to improving and sustaining STW: (1) working toward bringing program implementation to scale at…

In the prevailing atmosphere of concern for basic skills development, Houston Community College System (HCCS) faculty and administration perceived the need for a self-evaluation of HCCS's developmental studies programs. The purposes of the resulting study are: (1) to evaluate the effectiveness of the institution's developmental studies programs by…

This book provides a rationale, model, and procedures for implementing change in high schools. Focus is on adoption of applied, context-based, community-based education that eliminates competition between academic and vocational education and promotes cooperation in creating career-based education. Chapter 1 provides a review of how this type of…

With the transformation of the welfare system, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reviewed the employment and training components of 13 of its programs. The evaluation begins with a literature review that identifies these four groups of elements associated with positive outcomes: employment services that have an employment…

Early Head Start was designed in 1994 as a 2-generation program to enhance children's development and health, strengthen family and community partnerships, and support the staff delivering new services to low-income families with pregnant women, infants, or toddlers. This document contains the final technical report, appendixes, and local…

The Georgia Prekindergarten Program was established in 1993 to provide the state's 4-year-olds with high-quality preschool experiences. A five-year, longitudinal study examined the ways in which differences in prekindergarten services received by 3,639 Pre-K 4-year-olds affected them during their first 3 years of elementary school and assessed the…

Although support for parents has been common in Dutch policy and practice since the early 1990s, recent efforts are focusing on improving the match between supply and demand, improving coherence, and making it easier to identify and to access relevant support agencies; efforts are also focusing on prevention. This article examines how the…

This manual is designed to assist facilitators working with members of a school community in forming or strengthening partnerships that will promote greater success for their youth. Participants can identify characteristics that are most important for youth to be successful in their community, consider ways to determine that students are…

A cut score validity analysis for a pretest writing prompt and the SAT Verbal and Math assessments was performed for academic writing course placement. This study was carried out as part of a broader program of assessment aimed at understanding the impact of the writing course and eventually set the baseline for assessing the impact of 'writing…

Examines effects of an afterschool science program on minority female students' attitudes toward science, engineering, and mathematics. The program, which incorporated cooperative learning, lands-on activities, mentoring, and role models, positively influenced participants' attitudes to (and subsequent participation in) these subject areas.…

Australian governments at both federal and state levels have collaborated for the past 15 years to lift Indigenous students from their position as the nation's most educationally disadvantaged group. The introduction in 1989 of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Plan was accompanied by an ambitious target of achieving…