One of the greatest challenges that community colleges face in their efforts to increase graduation rates is improving the success of students in their developmental, or remedial, education programs--the courses that students without adequate academic preparation must take before they can enroll in courses for college credit. Emphasizing results…

Internal Audit Services conducted an Early Implementation Review of the Understanding the Early Years (UEY) Initiative in 2006-07. This review is intended to provide assurance to senior management that program delivery has been established appropriately in order to meet its objectives and highlight any areas that require focused management…

This year, Congress is scheduled to review the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). In 2002, this law signaled an important change in federal education policy by focusing on accountability for results rather than simple compliance and by seeking to set the performance bar high for all children, regardless of where they live. The time is now to learn…

This brief publication provides bullet points of what education authorities are doing well and how they can do better in the following areas: (1) Planning for implementation; (2) Transition arrangements; (3) Meeting additional support needs; (4) Resolving disagreements; (5) Coordinated support plans; and (6) Working with children and young…

Policy decision makers, early educators, and early interventionists face numerous challenges as they develop and implement statewide accountability systems to evaluate and improve children's early intervention and early childhood special education outcomes. Kansas was an early adopter of the Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF) developed by the…

In response to a state budget deficit, the University of Minnesota Extension restructured its field staff, establishing a new regional and county delivery system, shifting all supervision of field staff to campus faculty, and encouraging greater field staff specialization, program focus, and entrepreneurial efforts. Nine economic concepts and…

In 2004, the Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) provided The Chicago Public Education Fund (The Fund) with an initial look at the performance of Leadership and Urban Network for Chicago (LAUNCH) and principals and teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), two leadership programs that were just…

The Association for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) is committed to ensuring that decisions about children's lives are made on sound information and that state leaders and the public are fully informed. It is the public debate that has kept reform moving forward and will be necessary to ensure success. ACNJ believes that it is critically important…

This report covers the second year of a 3-year process evaluation of the Prime Time Initiative of Palm Beach County, Florida, a system-building effort to strengthen the availability and quality of after-school programs in the county. During the past two decades, the after-school field has expanded enormously. This growth has occurred partly in…

In its effort to simplify the accreditation process, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education has limited the amount of documentation that a program can use to support its efforts for accreditation. With this "no frills" approach, the rubrics or scoring guides that accompany assessments provide critical information about the…

This paper first compares Vermont's old Individualized Education Plan (IEP) which was designed primarily to insure legal compliance with the new family-centered IEP. It then describes the new IEP. Vermont's new family-centered IEP process emphasizes increased collaboration, reduced paperwork, and legal compliance. Three questions serve as a focus…

This document, which highlights the efforts of the National Institute for Literacy to pilot the development of state literacy accountability systems in four states, outlines the components, operation, and importance of state accountability systems and discusses considerations in developing a systems approach to planning and implementing a quality…

This interview guide can be used to determine whether a workplace literacy provider has the skills to develop and deliver a successful workplace literacy program that will meet the needs of a business and build the productive capacity of its employees. It can be used to assess the capabilities of a wide variety of literacy providers, including…

A study was conducted of off-campus instructional programs offered by the College of Agriculture of the University of Florida to describe the programs being conducted, the resources needed, the policies for teaching courses at community colleges, and the potential for using Ag Sat and other remote delivery systems for off-campus teaching. Data…

This report discusses the accomplishments and limitations of the Nine-Site Program Improvement initiative, a 3-year venture in which federal contractors provided technical assistance to schools. The contractors, Chapter 1 Technical Assistance Centers (TACs) and Rural Technical Assistance Centers (RTACs) received about $60,000 per year for their…