An analysis conducted by the state of Washington showed that the new jobs of the future will require workers with skills acquired in technical areas, but not college degrees. The analysis suggests that the present educational system is not producing an adequate supply of such workers and that more nontraditional workers will have to be recruited…

A survey was conducted of the literature pertaining to higher education program review. Many institutions of higher education have come under intense scrutiny and criticism, and have been required to respond to public pressure for accountability. Program review is one component of the assessment of institutional effectiveness. The following seven…

This report describes achievements of Colorado's Division for Developmental Disabilities' Community Integrated Employment (CIE) Program for the 1990-91 period. The report begins with a definition of "community integrated employment." Text and graphical data on characteristics of persons in community integrated employment, including age…

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has contracted with the Wisconsin Center for Education Research to develop and field test performance assessments in mathematics, language arts, and science. Together with a Wisconsin-developed knowledge and concepts test, the new performance assessments will provide important information about the…

This article examines one of the challenges to the integration of classroom and large-scale portfolio assessment, a challenge posed by the use of a student's classroom portfolio for large-scale assessment of his or her individual competencies. When work is composed with the support of peers, teachers, and parents, whose work is being judged? The…

This memorandum examines state higher education funding in South Dakota for fiscal year (FY) 1996, describing five state-funded grant programs approved by the state legislature and funded for FY 1996. These include: (1) the need-based Student Incentive Grant program, which provides up to $600 per year to students attending public institutions in…

The New Hampshire State Department of Education in conjunction with the state board and the Legislature, has implemented a new statewide educational improvement and assessment program. The purpose of the program is "to establish what New Hampshire students should know and be able to do and to develop and implement effective methods for…

This report, second in a series, contains school and district level data on student performance at the end of the primary grades. It provides a source of information to evaluate current school improvement efforts and facilitate decisions about curriculum, instruction, professional development, resource allocation, and staffing. The statewide…

In 1990 the Kentucky state legislature passed the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA), which mandated a total overhaul of the state's kindergarten through grade 12 public school system and was designed to result in equitable education for all students. Accountability components of the KERA include financial incentives for staff in schools where…

Public "schools of choice" refers to a new trend in educational policy that involves various forms of competition and choice. The initiatives of individual states range from authorizing magnet schools to allowing parents to send children to neighboring school districts. What these programs have in common is that parents, as consumers of…

What is needed to help children succeed at high levels is already known, and that vision and commitment are essential to bring about reform efforts that research has already established as effective. Conditions that contribute to academic success and well being include nurturing and supportive families, economically and socially healthy…

This manual provides examples of how service learning can be integrated into the curriculum of the high school. The integration of activities can add real-life experiences to the academic curriculum and help create the capacity for students to improve their school and community. The three types of service activities include: (1) direct activities…

The Performance Standards of the Oregon Certificate of Initial Mastery are described and discussed. Performance standards define how well students must perform on classroom and state assessments that lead to Oregon's Certificate of Initial Mastery. Students must complete classroom and state assessments that show what they know and can do in…

Three Pennsylvania universities focused on defining the functional role and identifying the training needs of work-based mentors for Pennsylvania's system of school-to-work transition, in order to design a training protocol. Interviews were conducted with 81 experienced employees concerning their view of the mentoring role and the activities that…

Beginning in February 1994, twelfth-grade students who have passed the Ohio Ninth-grade Proficiency Tests in all areas will take the Twelfth-grade Proficiency Tests in writing, reading, mathematics, and citizenship. This fact sheet describes the Twelfth-grade Proficiency Test in citizenship. The test is designed to measure a twelfth-grade level of…