The research and evaluation agenda for the Austin Independent School District (AISD) (Texas) is determined for each school year, subject to current needs and requests. The evaluations and other major projects for 1993-94 will focus on three major areas. First is providing school support. Testing programs mandated by state law and district policy…

This publication assesses the status of public elementary-secondary education in South Dakota and describes the state's progress toward meeting the six National Education Goals. A notable achievement is the Families First program, which is a broad-based initiative that empowers communities to identify and meet local human service needs and to…

A federal program designed to reduce dropout rates in middle schools among limited-English-proficient (LEP) students is described. The program trains LEP middle school students at risk of dropping out as tutors for elementary school children. A demonstration project trained 101 Hispanic student tutors in two Texas school districts. Evaluation of…

This publication presents performance data and the concomitant standards of performance that form the basis of school improvement in Maryland. The Data-Based Areas section of this report describes essential tools for measuring how well schools, school systems, and the state are preparing every student for higher education and successful careers…

Law-related education (LRE) has been shown to produce positive changes in student attitudes toward school, parents, the police, and deviant behavior. Project NEXUS, a rural Appalachian program designed to address dropout prevention and predelinquent factors, was implemented in Ellijay (Georgia) Middle School. A group of 25 students, chosen because…

Transforming the welfare system presents governors with unique opportunities, hard choices, and creative challenges. Change will require continued commitment to welfare, educational reform, and economic development. Governors can improve the status of private citizens and private businesses. The Family Support Act of 1988 signaled major changes in…

The crisis of dropping out among Latino high school students points directly to the important role that teachers, counselors, administrators, parents, and community groups can play in creating for each student a vision of the future that includes postsecondary education. The Five Cities High School Dropout Study, which documents the effect of key…

This bulletin examines some questions that arise when children are not ready for promotion: Should they be retained? Who decides? Are there alternatives to retention? What is the effect of retention on the student? Despite research limitations, those who examine the studies on grade repetition say they show that grade retention does not have a…

This information packet contains nine articles that outline current trends in kindergarten retention/exclusion and their negative impact on student outcomes, particularly for high risk students. The 1980s saw increasing numbers of children required to repeat kindergarten, attend a transitional grade before first grade, or wait an extra year before…

This journal provides a forum for adult educators to express their ideas on adult literacy. The following articles are included: "Teaching Moments: Teaching People, Not Lessons" (Patricia Wild); "Whole Language: Implications for the Adult Learner" (Jeri Gillin); "Gatekeepers or Advocates?" (Rosie Wickert); "Writing with Teen Mothers: I Have…

This report discusses three major issues in urban education: dropout prevention, secondary education for Hispanic Americans, and urban teaching careers. Current studies on dropping out attempt to locate the responsibility for high dropout rates in policies or practices that schools initiate and have the power to change. Findings of these studies…

Student attrition at six South Carolina colleges was studied: three of the colleges were small, traditionally black, four-year private colleges, while three were mid-sized, public, four-year colleges, one of which was traditionally black. The sample of first-time freshmen consisted of 301 black males, 538 black females, 220 white males, and 319…

In 1985 the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessed the literacy skills of America's young adults. The survey stressed the complexity and diversity of literary tasks in American society rather than using a simplistic single standard for literacy. NAEP convened panels of experts whose deliberations led to this definition of…

A project was designed to provide career development activities for selected educationally at-risk seventh graders in two target junior high schools in the Roanoke City Public School System, Virginia. The assumption was that career development activities that provide students with increased self-understanding, coupled with strategies involving the…

For the 1984-85 funding cycle the Interstate Migrant Secondary Services Program established and successfully met 10 objectives related to 3 major goals: (1) assist local and state education agencies (LEA's and SEA's) to improve migrant students' access to junior and senior high school services in the areas of instructional opportunities, credit…