Describes Quebec French-language instructional programs for non-native speakers, covering government, university, and association offerings. (CB)

Partnerships among education agencies including institutions of higher education, local school districts, and the State Department of Education offer tremendous opportunities for attaining the mutual goal of educational improvement in Mississippi. A collaborative staff development program for teachers is described. (CB)

A variety of alternatives to traditional means of financing a college education are being developed by states and institutions in response to rising tuitions. The ideas, including novel payment and loan plans and tuition futures, are often controversial because of the risks they entail. (MSE)

Discusses Michigan's state-supported programs for the gifted. (IRT)

This report examines state-sponsored early intervention programs whose aims are to assist educationally and economically disadvantaged students to plan for postsecondary education. It highlighs common policy mechanisms and discusses practices that have become established over time. It highlights 17 programs in 12 states that are leaders in early…

This study addressed statistical techniques that might ameliorate some of the sampling problems currently facing states with small populations participating in State National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessments. The study explored how the application of finite population correction factors to the between-school component of…

On October 26, the House Ways and Means Committee approved a budget reconciliation bill that includes provisions to reauthorize the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. This bill provides only $500 million in new child care funding over five years, despite estimates by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) staff that keeping…

In response to a request from the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) conducted a study to examine the feasibility of developing functional status measures for planning and implementing services to consumers in the State-Federal Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Program. To investigate this…

This document comprises four issues of a quarterly newsletter about the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and efforts to enroll eligible children in the program. Each issue provides information on related national news events, future events and publications of the Children's Defense Fund, and outreach initiatives in various states. Some…

This document is designed to show the connection between the required state-written curriculum (courses of study) and the state-tested curriculum (the Alabama High School Graduation Examination and the Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition [Stanford 9]) in English Language Arts. The document illustrates that courses of study content standards…

This report examines the overlap between student test results on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) and the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). The two tests were compared and contrasted in terms of content and measurement philosophy, and analyses studied the statistical relationship between the ITBS and the WASL. The ITBS assesses…

This manual is designed to assist educators in using the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) Alternate Assessment, an assessment intended to allow students with the most significant disabilities to participate in MCAS. The manual provides guidelines, materials, and procedures necessary for the preparation of student portfolios for…

An evaluation was conducted of student use of the PLATO computer assisted instruction system in the Highland Park Independent School District, Amarillo, Texas, a school district that has one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school. The evaluation was based on telephone interviews with the Assistant Superintendent, three written…

In 1996, a subcommittee of the State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards commissioned a study of the use of performance-based assessments in large-scale accountability systems. The idea was to look into current state assessment work on performance-based assessments to see what has been learned, but not widely reported, by those who…

This study, one of a series designed to answer practical questions about performance based assessment, examined the comparability of school scores on short, nonparallel test forms. The data were obtained from mathematics tests with both multiple choice (MC) and performance assessment (PA) items. The tests were administered in a statewide testing…