South Carolina's comprehensive Education Improvement Act of 1984 includes provisions for the development and implementation of statewide incentive pay programs for teachers, principals, and schools. The provision affecting teachers mandates the development and field testing of up to three programs between 1984 and 1986 and the implementation of…

In the course of developing and passing the South Carolina Education Improvement Act of 1984, those behind the legislative effort observed that several factors affect successful educational reform. First, reform must be comprehensive. The 1984 act has provisions relating to academic standards, basic skills, instructional improvement,…

This report is essentially a summary of many studies and papers prepared during the course of a two-year project. The goal of the project was to develop a planning methodology for meeting educational program needs in allied health professions to be used in the California state higher education system. For the purpose of this project, nursing is…

Enactment of South Carolina's Education Improvement Act of 1984 taught several lessons about successful education reform. The law provides for raising student performance by increasing academic standards; strengthening the teaching and testing of basic skills; elevating the teaching profession; improving leadership, management, and fiscal…

In recent years, the interest in how children spend their out-of-school time has resulted in program development projects at the local and state level and has influenced state and federal policymakers to propose legislation supportive of school-age child care programs. Gubernatorial and legislative efforts have succeeded in several states.…

The report describes a project, the National Clearinghouse on Offender Employment Restrictions, designed to develop a program to help in the removal of formal barriers to job opportunities for ex-offenders. The report describes the project's effort in gathering research and development materials relating to licensing restrictions and other…

To determine the extent of state-mandated staff development activity in the states, a study involving the chief education officer from each of the 50 states was conducted, and the results are reported in this paper. The study and report focus on the following: (1) states mandating staff development programs; (2) states planning legislation…

Almost seventy years passed before vocational education was recognized in 1977 as a state function in North Carolina's public secondary schools, community colleges/technical institutes, and teacher education programs. Although the 1917 Smith-Hughes Act initiated vocational education, North Carolina education was primarily a local matter until the…

California's progress towards the equitable participation of ethnic minorities and women in the admission and retention of postsecondary education students is reported. Part 1 provides a background and summary of the California student affirmative action program. Part 2 describes student body composition (ethnic and sexual) and part 3 considers…

Venture capital provided under the School to Work Opportunities Act 1994 (STWOA) has promoted significant state and local innovation. STWOA's 7-year lifespan assumed that states made a commitment to building sustainable systems when they applied for funds. As STWOA approaches the end of its lifespan, many states are examining and assessing their…

Service learning (SL) is a teaching method that integrates service to the community with classroom curriculum and provides a hands-on approach to mastering subject material while fostering civic responsibility. Through funds from the Corporation for National Service (CNS), nearly every state has resources and some level of SL programming. Although…