Examination of teacher education in Michigan and California illustrates dimensions of assonance and dissonance among key stakeholders in teacher preparation, particularly in relation to professional standards, accreditation, and teacher testing. Different shapes and values may be preferable to a national standard scorecard for teachers. (SLD)

Summarizes the beginnings of family support programs for developmentally disabled children and their families; their present workings; and the direction they should be going. (BB)

Analysis of a national study of state-operated institutional care for mentally retarded persons is presented. Among findings are dramatic escalation in resident cost, primarily a result of declining institutional census with stable staffing levels. Econometric projections for the year 2000 are offered. (Author/DB)

This review examines factors impacting on substantiation rates for central registries of child abuse and neglect cases. Technical factors were not found to affect substantiation rates, though certain legal factors were somewhat associated with lower substantiation rates. The use of risk assessment models is recommended to improve rates without…

Characteristics of 718 students labeled as learning disabled before implementation of Indiana's statewide guidelines were compared with characteristics of 790 students identified after guideline implementation. After implementation, students identified had more severe academic problems and severe ability/achievement discrepancy, though one-third…

California's 2+2+2 articulation agreements assure students a smooth transition from high school tech prep to community college courses that transfer to baccalaureate programs at state universities. California Articulation Numbers identify community college and university courses with similar content and transferable credits. (SK)

This 10-year followup to an S. M. Davidson and others (1984) study surveyed all 50 states and the District of Columbia to determine the composition and role of state Medicare program Medical Care Advisory Committees (MCACs). Recommendations are given to enable MCACs to be more useful in policy development. (SLD)

Describes the development, beginning in 1988, of Vermont's portfolio-based writing assessment program, pointing out the inevitable tension in assessment programs between the need for measurement and a wish for professional development that leads to improved instruction. (SR)

Describes ILLINET Online, a resource sharing network for the state of Illinois. The constituency of the network, recent usage statistics relating to interlibrary loan requests, and the development of recent technological changes involving standards for networks are discussed; and future plans are outlined. (LRW)

A stakeholder approach was used in the development of a statewide educational performance monitoring system in Virginia--the Educational Performance Recognition program. Stakeholder groups included teachers, superintendents, school board members, and education group representatives. Responses of 58 stakeholders surveyed were positive. (SLD)

Defining hunger on the basis of poverty or other nonphysiological criteria is misleading. With nutritional data used by human-service agencies, suggests programs with such conception of hunger hurt the efforts at nutritional change. Uses central Mississippi as an example to propose objective nutritional definition and assessment. (TES)

Discussion of the development of educational standards and the impact on school library media programs focuses on what constitutes information skills, or information literacy. Documents for 27 states are listed that outline the information skills actually taught in the various states. (LRW)

Whether a feasible a priori factor structure can be identified for the Mississippi Teacher Assessment Instruments (MTAI) was studied through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of ratings of 194 student teachers. Analyses support some degree of construct validity, but expected factor structures were not identified. (SLD)

Includes "Community Education (CE) Development in the States" (Clark, Zemlo); "State of the States" (Clark, Zemlo); "In Support of State-Level CE Development" (Decker, Romney); "CE in Florida" (Hanley, Robinson); ""CE in Kentucky" (Christenson, Whitus); "CE in Minnesota" (Kerns,…

Implementation of the Illinois Plan for Industrial Technology Education was assessed through interviews with 117 teachers. The assessment model (based on Stufflebeam's Context, Input, Process, Product) blended qualitative and quantitative information. Six key dimensions of change were identified, and the Transition Assessment Inventory proved…