The purpose of this report is to provide readers with a comparative analysis of the Massachusetts workforce "system" structures and performance reporting processes compared to other states. Though the federal workforce development system is often examined in its entirety and individual state systems are at times examined independently,…

In 2009, families nationwide were surveyed to see how many children are in afterschool programs, how many are unsupervised after school and how these numbers compare to five years ago. "America After 3 PM" provides the most comprehensive and accurate picture to date of what this nation's youth are doing each day after school. Overall,…

Most special education administrators do not get the chance to network regularly with professional peers to discuss job challenges and strategies. School-district special education directors routinely juggle complex, difficult, time-consuming, and emotion-laden job demands, but when things get tough, they usually find themselves solving problems…

A study reviewed the curriculum and program development for vocational-technical education in Massachusetts. Data for analysis were gathered by the Division of Occupational Education, Massachusetts Department of Education, from division research, third-party evaluations of vocational-technical education, and reports from other state agencies, as…

This review examined the evaluation components from 10 awarded state improvement grants designed to improve systems providing services for students with disabilities. The review examined the following aspects of the evaluation components: purposes, conceptual framework for the evaluation and systems reform, evaluation design and approaches,…

An evaluation of the fifth cycle of operation of the Massachusetts Workplace Education Initiative had several purposes: (1) to identify the indicators of quality in workplace education; (2) to begin to design an evaluation system for each program; and (3) to assess the indicators of quality for workplace education programs against the national…

This publication represents a major attempt by the Massachusetts Department of Education to involve itself in what educators call the "change process" -- using research to help develop solutions to educational problems, and disseminating results to facilitate adoption of those solutions by many schools. Title III provides federal funds…

Meeting at Massachusetts state residential schools and centers for the mentally handicapped, the 15-man committee reviewed recommendations originally appearing in Massachusetts Plans for Its Retarded, A 10-Year Plan (1966). Forty-seven final recommendations for improving residential facilities for the retarded resulted; suggestions made for their…

A study examined the effectiveness of Massachusetts' Summer Youth Employment and Training Programs (SYETP) funded under Title IIB of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). The study methodology included the following: a review of federal JTPA legislation and pertinent state policy directives; site visits to a random sampling of 15 summer…

The Massachusetts Department of Education's Accountability and Targeted Assistance (ATA) Center maintains and manages the state's School and District Accountability System. Results from the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) are used to identify public schools and districts that are likely to require state intervention in order…

In their 2004 State of the State speeches, the nation's governors cited many issues competing for their attention and their states' resources, including health care, education, crime, and security (Nodine 2004). Among the most compelling challenges were those related to economic development and the ability of a state's workforce to meet the needs…

This report summarizes evaluation information on reading, writing, and mathematics achievement among elementary and secondary school students in 310 school districts in Massachusetts, after the second year of implementation of the Basic Skills Improvement Policy. The report describes data collection, analysis, and reporting procedures, summarizes…