"The ABCs of School Choice" is the most comprehensive guide to every private school choice program in America, showcasing the voucher, tax-credit scholarship, education savings accounts, and individual tax credit/deduction programs currently operating in 21 states and Washington, D.C. "The ABCs of School Choice" provides policymakers, advocates,…

In this paper, the authors examine how policy and structural changes states made in response to the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) may influence the level and composition of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) caseload. This paper grew out of a 50-state survey Mathematica Policy Research conducted on diversion programs which…

For more than a decade, the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning has supported the Teaching and California's Future (TCF) initiative to provide California policymakers with objective and timely data on the state's teacher workforce. Each year, the Center publishes a report on the status of teaching profession. This year's report focuses…

This is the second "Profiles" report to examine nonprofit education management organizations (EMOs). This report is modeled after the 11 annual "Profiles" that cover for-profit EMOs. While the number of schools operated by for-profit EMOs grew rapidly in the 1990s and is now leveling off, the number of schools operated by nonprofit EMOs has been…

Effective evidence-based action requires getting the right data into the right hands at the right time to help make decisions. The Data Quality Campaign (2011) has provided suggestions to state education agencies for effectively using data within state longitudinal data systems. One suggestion is to identify "the variety of ways available…

The article surveys the various state-level evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation challenges and strategies adopted for children, youths, and families. The federal government also supports EBP through development and intervention research, training and technical assistance, and evaluation of different planning and implementation strategies.…

This synthesis report provides a historical look back over the past 15 years of alternate assessment, from the early 1990s through the mid 2000s, as reported by state directors of special education on the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) state surveys, and augmented by other research and policy reports published by NCEO and related…

The data presented in this combined report--"Rankings & Estimates"--provide facts about the extent to which local, state, and national governments commit resources to public education. As one might expect in a nation as diverse as the United States--with respect to economics, geography, and politics--the level of commitment to…

The first part of this paper discusses the nature and use of high-inference and low-inference criteria for the evaluation of science textbooks. The second part discusses a project entitled Criteria for the Analysis and Selection of Science Textbooks (CASST). Included are results of a state survey which show that very little emphasis is given to…

This report of the Education Data Project presents the findings of the Task Force on Collecting National Statistics on Dropouts, created to recommend ways of arriving at accurate, comparable, and timely state and national dropout statistics. The major recommended strategy is to agree on specific data to be collected by the states and to establish…

A statewide survey of classroom teachers was conducted to determine curricular applications of instructional television (ITV) in Maryland. The stratified random sample utilized consisted of 62% elementary, 17% middle, and 21% secondary school teachers; the usable response rate was 59.1% and consisted of 618 teachers. The following questions were…

Analysis of statewide (Oklahoma) survey data revealed that 22.5% of individuals with mental retardation who were served by the Oklahoma mental retardation system were receiving antipsychotic medication. Higher levels of medication use were found in institutional settings and Intermediate Care Facility settings. (Author/DB)

In order to determine the capacity of high schools to profit from the pre-high school computer experiences of its students, a study was conducted to measure computer utilization in selected high schools of Middle Tennessee. Questionnaires distributed to 50 principals in 28 school systems covered the following areas: school enrollment; number and…

Data reports from South Carolina's 92 independent school districts during 1980-81 were used to calculate prevalence rates of mental retardation and learning disabilities. These prevalence rates were 41.66/1,000 children enrolled for mental retardation and 33.21/1,000 children enrolled for learning disabilities. Additional analysis showed that…

Analyzes factors affecting the birth weight of infants born to Southeast Asian immigrant parents in Washington State from 1980 through 1986. Finds an annual reduction of 6.4 percent in the prevalence of low birth weight associated with an improvement in parental occupational status. (FMW)