This paper describes the Vermont Interdependent Services Team Approach (VISTA), a decision-making process for determining the educational support service needs of students with deaf-blindness or other multiple disabilities. The paper also analyzes perceptions of VISTA held by experts in a variety of fields. Specifically, VISTA provides a team…

Assessing School-Age Child Care Quality (ASQ) is a five-step process which guides program staff as they evaluate the quality of their program so they can develop priorities and improve achievement of goals. The five steps in the ASQ process are: (1) preparing for program improvement; (2) gathering information; (3) building the Action Plan; (4)…

The federally funded Magnet Schools Assistance Program was funded to eight magnet schools in the Wake County (North Carolina) Public School System (WCPSS) to reduce minority group isolation and to strengthen academic offerings, by integrating technology into instruction as a key element. In 1993-94 and 1994-95 grant monies were provided to six…

This study evaluates an alternate model for middle school education, which was introduced into depressed urban settings in the 1970s by the Jesuit religious order, in two parochial middle schools, one coed and one all-male established in 1993 in an Eastern city. Comparisons of school structural characteristics, attendance figures, report card…

This report of the work of self-help groups of unemployed black adults in Britain shows how effectively these groups are able to generate employment opportunities for their members and offers recommendations for the further development of such initiatives. Chapter 1 describes setting up the research project to provide information on the efforts…

This paper provides a brief overview of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) as an instructional methodology. A description of a graduate program for practicing teachers at the University of Colorado at Denver (UCD) is also included. Problem-based learning is a student-centered instructional methodology that teaches content and skills within a knowledge…

Holt High School (Michigan) has implemented a school to work transition for its 1,200 students, including 120 students with mild to severe disabilities. The Holt Transition System is based on a taxonomy of five domains: student development, student-focused planning, interagency collaboration, family involvement, and program structure and…

This report presents the first product of a comprehensive 5-year evaluation of a major federal effort, the School-to-Work Opportunities Act (1994), which provides 5-year federal grants as "seed money" to design systems involving work-based learning, school-based learning, and connecting activities. The report is based on extensive site…

The effects of a cooperative learning program, Bilingual Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (BCIRC), on the Spanish and English reading, writing, and language achievement of second and third graders of limited English proficiency in Spanish bilingual programs in El Paso (Texas) were studied. BCIRC was expected to improve student…

An elementary science program was taught in Spanish for English-speaking children to give them the opportunity to acquire second language skills through hands-on science instruction. The program included 4 classes of approximately 22 students at kindergarten and first-grade levels in the gifted and talented program at the Gary Herod Elementary…

The Guam State Plan for Adult Education, as implemented by Guam Community College, had five goals: provide a comprehensive adult education instructional program that is flexible and responsive to employment needs; increase enrollment and expand services for special groups; establish continuous needs assessment of targeted educationally…

The Florida Association of Voluntary Agencies for Caribbean Action (FAVA/CA) was formed to provide on-site, overseas technical assistance and training in health, agriculture, social services, and education. This paper reports on the beginnings of an evaluation of the New Life Organization (NEWLO), a vocational training institute in Grenada, West…

The 125th meeting of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) reviewed the mission statement, goals, and objectives of the Association. Major themes from the review process included the effect of technology on access and preservation; the critical need to develop measures of library effectiveness and performance; and the importance of…

Prepared in response to a recommendation from a 1995 accreditation visit, this report describes efforts undertaken at Arizona's Coconino Community College (CCC) to assess student achievement and institutional effectiveness in 1995-96. Following introductory materials on the purpose of the report and an executive summary, a graph of assessment…

In the fall of 1995 the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) held a conference to stimulate dialogue about future developments in the fields of education, statistical methodology, and technology and the implications of these developments for the nation's education statistics program. This paper summarizes and synthesizes the results of…