Relatively little is known about private school finance in the United States. Since this lack of data impoverishes educational policy discussions that compare public and private schools, a strategy, was developed to collect finance data from private schools. High-quality data can be used to determine the total amount spent on elementary and…

This final report discusses the Reader Development Program (RDP) of the Free Library of Philadelphia's English as a Second Language (ESL) Adult Literacy Instructional Materials Project. Project goals were to identify and review ESL adult literacy instructional materials developed by ESL practitioners. These objectives were accomplished by several…

Each year, the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) compiles data on educational and job related outcomes for students leaving vocational preparation programs determined to have been preparing for employment. The automated data matching procedure examines state unemployment insurance and benefits records, public…

Each year, the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) compiles data on educational and job related outcomes for graduates of vocational preparation programs. The automated data matching procedure examines state unemployment insurance and benefits records, public post-secondary enrollments, U.S. Armed Forces…

A study was conducted to determine the degree of access that students with special needs have to secondary and postsecondary vocational education in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Client Reporting System as well as visits to 11 sites and in-depth profiles of a high school and a technical college provided data for the study. The study found that data…

This paper discusses findings from an evaluation of the effectiveness of a pre-referral intervention program that was being implemented in seven school districts in the Southern Tier of New York. The initiative is known as 7 SHARE, which stands for 7 districts supporting and helping to affect regional education. The paper explores the methods used…

This booklet contains the final report of Maine's Commission on Child Abuse. The commission is charged with examining the current policies as well as public and private programs and resources related to physical and sexual abuse of children. The commission's recommendations are discussed in detail. The nine recommendations concern: teacher and…

Child advocacy groups have become increasingly sophisticated about using data to mobilize public opinion and motivate greater public investment in young children and their families. The lesson emerging from this work is that state and local data are needed in addition to national data to build a more powerful case for change. This policy brief…

Data collection and analysis are frequently neglected by school leaders over the course of the decision-making process. All schools gather large amounts of information about students and teachers, but most data are used to satisfy administrative requirements rather than evaluate school improvement in a systematic fashion. Apprehension regarding…

A project was conducted to establish criteria by which adult basic and literacy education (ABLE) student enrollment, completion, early separation, and educational level/category attainment are reported throughout Pennsylvania. First, staff at 10 Project Educational Quality for Adult Literacy (EQuAL) sites were interviewed to identify recurring…

This study examined policies to help states develop, recruit, and retain more highly qualified teachers. Researchers conducted interviews to examine the data systems in 14 states. Results indicated that comparable, timely, and accurate data about teacher quality were conspicuously absent from many policy discussions. Although states collected and…

This study examined the relationship between instructional and assessment accommodations for students with disabilities in grades 1-8 on the Maryland state tests comprising the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program. The study evaluated the Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) of 280 students with disabilities in four local education…

This report reviews existing data related to post-school outcomes for individuals with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), discusses why these data may be misleading, and describes what the special education field is doing to improve the post-school outcomes for individuals with EBD. In the first part of the paper, outcomes related to three…

Counseling supervision has often been conceptualized as an extrapolation of counseling theory to the supervisory context. As a learning context central to the professional development of counselors distinctly different from counseling, this scope of supervision limited the supervisor's ability to deliberately enhance supervisee growth. Although…

This study analyzed data from the Illinois Shared Enrollment and Graduation Information System concerning attendance and graduation patterns of two groups: students who entered Illinois public universities as first-time freshmen between 1987 and 1992 and students who had graduated from Illinois public universities by spring 1998. Major findings…