An alternative approach to Chapter 1 accountability is proposed that would reward schools for reducing the number of students who fail to meet minimum standards on appropriate tests. Program improvement services would be increased and made available to all Chapter 1 schools. (SLD)

The 1988 Hawkins Stafford amendments to the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act required that the national evaluation and reporting system for Chapter 1 identify individual school projects in need of improvement. It is argued that the system is unsuited for this purpose, and suggestions for better indicators are provided. (SLD)

Describes how staff at an outdoor education center responded to budget cuts and the threat of program cancellation by encouraging outside use of the center for a fee, and by developing a partnership with the Demonstration Forest Program, resulting in improvement to nature trails and the reinstatement of day-trip programs. (LP)

Discusses early developments in the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) interlibrary loan, including use of OCLC for verification and request transmittal, improved service to patrons, internal cost control, affect on work flow and borrowing patterns. Describes advances in OCLC, including internationalization, electronic information access,…

Contends that creating a program that reflects diversity and equity is an evolving process. Presents common markers whereby programs can judge individual levels on the multicultural and antibias education journey. Lists indicators for program evaluation, first steps and advanced steps characteristic of a multicultural-education program. (SD)

In the present climate of public accountability, there is increasing demand to show "what works" and what return is gained for the public from investments to improve communities. This increasing demand for accountability is being met with growing confidence in the field of philanthropy during the past 10 years that the impact or effectiveness of…

International service-learning combines aspects of conventional study abroad with aspects of conventional service-learning, offering an exceptional degree of integration into a target culture and an intensive experience of community service. The present study describes an effort to establish, through qualitative assessment, the degree to which…

By asking assessment questions that have direct policy implications, a committee of Harvard advisors, faculty members, and administrators was able to implement specific and concrete on-campus advising initiatives. Only modest amounts of data were collected to effect meaningful changes in student behavior, course design, and assignments. Interviews…

Practicing physicians generally are not engaged in either the methods of performance improvement for health care or the measurement and reporting of clinical outcomes. The principal reasons are lack of compensation for such work, the perception that the work of performance improvement adds no value and is a waste of time, the lack of knowledge and…

Research Findings: Integrated services for young children and families are part of the new policy landscape in early childhood, but there is limited evidence of the effectiveness of these programs and how they develop on the ground. This study examined the use of the Early Development Instrument (EDI) as both a summative program evaluation tool…

WITH A 1962 GRANT FROM THE FORD FOUNDATION FOR THE FIRST FIVE YEARS OF A COORDINATED 10-YEAR PROJECT DESIGNED TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN THE STATE, THE INDIANA LANGUAGE PROGRAM (ILP) PROPOSED, WITH THE COOPERATION OF OTHER STATE AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS, TO UPDATE PROGRAM METHODS AND OBJECTIVES IN THE HIGH SCHOOLS AND…

Helping students make the transition to high school and preparing them for postsecondary learning is built into the day-to-day processes at Statesville (NC) High School. The author and his staff members always strive to do what is best for the students. Because statistics indicate that the freshman class is always the largest and the senior class…

"Sounds of Learning: The Impact of Music Education" is a research program designed to allow researchers to examine the roles of music education in the lives of school-aged children to expand the understanding of music's role in a quality education. The NAMM Foundation, the sponsoring organization, has provided more than $1,000,000 to fund research…

In recent years, student interest in civic engagement has resulted in increased opportunities to volunteer on college campuses across the country. Unfortunately, these efforts are often not supported by or coordinated with academic curricula, and, as a result, their benefits can be short-lived. Despite a growing consensus that civic education…

For more than a decade, Florida's legislators and governors--first Jeb Bush and then Charles Crist--have pushed one of the nation's most ambitious education reform agendas: grading the performance of schools before No Child Left Behind was even an idea. Florida may be more known to outsiders for everything from its Indian River citrus crop to the…