In 2019, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) began exploratory data collection for the School Pension Survey (SPS). The SPS is a new data collection of elementary/secondary school teacher pension data collected at the school district level. The SPS was developed primarily in response to public demand for data on teacher and other…

Through a year-long study of welfare-to-work students in the community college CalWORKs program, we investigated what self-authorship development looks like by examining developmental progress, and whether there are patterns in development along the three dimensions of self-authorship. Findings demonstrate progress toward self-authorship, but…

The federal School Improvement Grants (SIG) program aims to improve student achievement by promoting the implementation of four school intervention models: transformation, turnaround, restart, and closure. Previous research provides evidence that low-performing schools adopt some practices promoted by the four models, but little is known about how…

Administrators in America's rural school districts are uniquely challenged to meet increased achievement expectations despite decreasing resources. Mandated reform initiatives, population decline, and the complex formulas used to distribute tax-based funding have disproportionately affected rural schools. In this mixed-methods study, researchers…

In January 2009, in the last week of the Bush Administration, the U.S. Department of Education (ED), upon orders from the departing political appointee staff, published the final report in a long running National Evaluation of Upward Bound (UB). The study was conducted by the contractor, Mathematica Policy Research. After more than a year in…

The research problem for this qualitative study was "Effective response to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) by school leadership is critical to public school success or failure in Indiana. Because high schools have been the first and most-often to 'fail' under NCLB, knowing principals' concerns and the leadership and implementation of strategies…

Characterizes the United States "Social Indicators" reports and considers how they differ from those produced by other nations. Explains how data in the reports can be used by social science researchers, policymakers, and social reporters and predicts how such data might be used in the future. (DB)

Research on new administrative campus positions (e.g., affirmative action officers) created by extensive federal involvement in higher education is reported. It is suggested that these positions have not contributed significantly to the expansion of administrative access for women and minorities. (Author/MLW)

Shortly after the local jurisdictions responsible for administering the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) completed their transition year and entered into their first full year of operation, the National Alliance of Business undertook two major data collection projects. The 593 service delivery areas (SDAs) and a sample of private industry…

Parents' preferences for day care services are compared with the major types of existing day care. Survey data on the types of services parents prefer is first summarized. Then the major types of available day care are described. Finally, each type of care is evaluated on the basis of available data concerning parents' satisfaction with and…

Questions have been raised about whether parents with limited English proficiency are having difficulty accessing child care and early education programs for their children. Research suggests that quality early care experiences can greatly improve the school readiness of young children. GAO was asked to provide information on: (1) the…

This report presents an analysis of the debt levels and debt burdens of recent college graduates, based on student-reported data from four national surveys taken over the period 1977 to 1986. The major findings of this study were the following: (1) one out of two 1986 college graduates had some undergraduate debt representing an increase from one…

The question, "How many people are enrolled in public school adult education?" is presented. The current survey on Adult Education in the Public Education System is one of several surveys. Adult education is defined here as "organized instruction to meet the unique needs of persons beyond compulsory school age who have interrupted or completed…

The Community Assessment (CA) is the collection and analysis of information on the characteristics and needs of American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) Head Start/Early Head Start (HS/EHS) eligible children and families in the grantee service area and the resources available to meet those needs. The primary purpose of conducting a Community…

A study examined the attitudes of youths from low income and disadvantaged households toward themselves, school, and work. A random sample of 7547 youths (about evenly divided between male and female) aged 14 to 20 from eight sites were surveyed concerning their opinions of themselves, their perceptions of their current jobs (if employed), their…