The "Personnel Evaluation Standards" of D. Stufflebeam (1988) were used as a framework for the historical analysis of Louisiana's effort to implement a statewide program to evaluate its 45,000 teachers for the purpose of renewable professional certification. Using the "Standards" provided insights into the evaluation process…

Investigated how well the generalized and Rasch models described item and test performance across a broad range of mixed-item-format test configurations (six tests from two state proficiency testing programs). Evaluating the impact of model assumptions on the predictions of item and test information permitted a delineation of the implications of…

Studied Kentucky's efforts to include students with disabilities in its statewide assessment, exploring the inclusion achieved, the kinds of accommodations offered, student performance, and the relationship between performance and the use of accommodations. Statewide results show that most students were included, but that some scores may not be…

Presents conclusions of an independent measurement expert that the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) was constructed according to acceptable professional standards and tests curricular material considered by the Texas Board of Education important for graduates to have mastered. Also supports the validity and reliability of the TAAS and…

EDUFAIM (Educating Families to Achieve Independence in Montana) was designed to integrate state efforts to help welfare recipients attain self-sufficiency through education in nutrition, health, family development, resource management, and housing. Evaluation of 34 participants showed changes in locus of control, depression, anxiety, knowledge,…

Examined the development of the Kentucky nongraded primary program at the state level and in six rural elementary schools from 1991 through 1998. Findings show changes teachers made in response to the program mandate and reveal issues that hampered implementation, including entrenched ideas about grade divisions. (SLD)

Examined the education indicators used in the "Quality Counts" report published by Editorial Projects in Education in 1998. Discusses the degree to which persuasive or normative uses stemmed from the value judgments being made on the basis of the indicator data. (SLD)

Continues the history of prison education in Florida by reviewing legislative and bureaucratic changes in the 1970s and 1980s, enrollment and funding fluctuations, and transfer of authority for correctional education from the state's department of education to the department of corrections. (JOW)

Determined general and specific processes of program approval and program review found in 50 states and 8 foreign countries. Defines models that depict these procedures and discusses strengths and weaknesses of each. Suggests alternatives to current practices by U.S. state agencies. (SLD)

Purpose: This article reports findings from a nationwide study on factors associated with the perceived effectiveness of state Long Term Care Ombudsman Programs (LTCOPs). Design and Methods: Researchers conducted telephone interviews with ombudsmen from the 50 state programs as well as from Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. Data from the National…

In 2005, Colorado lawmakers radically changed the state's higher education funding system. Until this point Colorado, like other states, had supported higher education by appropriating operating revenues to the institutions and providing some financial aid to low-income students. But in 2005, instead of giving the state's general funds for…

Surveyed and interviewed 658 teachers in Minnesota about the impact of the state's "Profile of Learning," performance-based standards grounded in constructivist philosophy. Most teachers rated their preparation and resources to use the new profile "fair" or "poor." (SLD)

The future of public education changed forever in the United States when "A Nation at Risk" was published in 1983. This report warned educators from coast to coast that America was on the brink of losing its top-ranked position internationally because "others" were "matching and surpassing their educational…

This document provides an executive summary of "Reading First Impact Study. Final Report. NCEE 2009-4038." The final report presents findings from the third and final year of the Reading First Impact Study (RFIS), a congressionally mandated evaluation of the federal government's initiative to help all children read at or above grade…

The 1999 Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA) created a system for summarizing performance on state standardized tests and an intervention program to help schools that were not meeting state-set goals. California's test scores have improved substantially since then, but state-led interventions programs have had little overall effect on this…