The popularity and use of handheld technologies cannot be denied in today's society. "300,000 first generation iPads were sold before midnight on their first day of sales and an additional 500,000 first generation iPads was sold by the end of that week" (Waters, 2010). The demand forced the iPad's sales to be delayed in Europe (Banister,…

Since 1988, considerable state and school/district energies have been devoted to implementing Re:Learning in Pennsylvania. This paper summarizes Re:Learning activities in the school district of Lancaster, in particular, McCaskey High School, which was recognized for the scope and quality of its implementation efforts. Re:Learning is a national…

This paper delineates the purposes of a symposium that was based on a major study of the California School Improvement Program (SIP). The problem of increasing the capacity of schools to implement reform efforts is conceptualized. To explore this issue, a conceptual framework was developed, based on the case study and survey data from the first…

Examines the impetus for and impact of a high-stakes assessment plan and reform initiative, North Carolina's ABC Plan for Public Education, from the perspective of state level policymakers and local level implementers. Finds practitioners received little support for implementing the initiative, and an adversarial relationship developed between…

The findings of a task force study of New York City's implementation of a State dropout prevention law are provided in this report. An introduction describes briefly the historical background of the legislation, called the Attendance Improvement-Dropout Prevention program, which provided $28 million in supplemental funds to school districts with…

A study investigated whether Louisiana school districts and schools involved in the SPUR (Special Plan Upgrading Reading) program were implementing and maintaining essential elements of the project five years after termination of state funding and external support. Subjects were the 66 superintendents or their designee at the district level as…

The document outlines the Georgia State Plan for providing special programs to gifted students within the public schools. Section I covers legal authorizations for special education services including state statutes, state board of education policies, and federal regulations and statutes. The primary responsibilities of state department of…

Examines current thinking on the nature of intergovernmental relations, examines the data on the development of the Michigan compensatory education program and the issues that have characterized its administration, and draws some conclusions about the state-local interaction in education and about the leadership capacities of state education…

Discusses the power that local school districts and schools exert over the eventual success or failure of state government initiatives. Analyzes three major hurdles that reform efforts must surmount at the district and school levels: affecting classroom instruction; eliciting a commitment of local resources; and becoming integrated into other…

Within the educational reform debate, there is general agreement that the development of high academic standards is an important first step toward improving academic outcomes. This report highlights the standards initiatives being implemented in Colorado, Delaware, Minnesota, and South Carolina. All four states have made substantial progress in…

This study focuses on how a statewide reform initiative, when envisioned as a professional development opportunity, affected teachers' capacities to become change-agents in their classrooms and districts, and how individual district contexts shaped the development of those capacities. The interview and artifactual data used for this study were…

Maryland is one of the states which recently developed new requirements for high school graduation. A preliminary evaluation of these new state standards has raised a number of issues about graduation standards and their assessment. The Maryland State Department of Education examined statewide policies and guidelines for high schools between 1982…

This study focused on successful strategies employed by state education agencies (SEAs) to encourage the development of community education programs and on the priority local education agencies (LEAs) place on community education. Questionnaires were returned from representatives of 51 state education agencies. The top ranked strategy for…

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…

The legislative history and provisions, implementation, and intended use of 12 state-mandated programs are described. Florida's program was mandated in 1971. The other states (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia) initiated programs after 1975; most are in their…