This paper discusses the growing segments of postsecondary education that are cutting into the market niche developed by community colleges, such as for-profit institutions offering degrees at costs substantially below those of traditional schools. More institutions often mean more competition for state funding and students (tuition revenue). The…

One of the generally accepted premises of current economic thinking is that a large and expanding proportion of growth is tied to what has come to be known as the "knowledge economy" or equivalently, the innovation sector. Despite recent U.S. Census Bureau data indicating that Latinos now constitute the largest minority group of the U.S.…

This guide provides an overview of strategies for gaining access to and using federal funds, as well as a catalog of 87 funding sources that can potentially support workforce development initiatives for adults and youth. It is intended to help program developers, policy makers, and initiative leaders identify federal funding sources to support…

New Mexicans of Native American and Hispanic ancestry participate less often and less successfully in the higher education system than do other groups. This fact has been demonstrated repeatedly in various studies and is exacerbated by a cycle of poverty, inadequate academic and financial preparation for college, and other issues related to…

This report describes a project to develop more effective types of assessment in high school classes. The targeted population was high school students in two different middle-class communities in the northern suburbs of Chicago (Illinois). One site in a very stable, homogeneous community, predominantly white, contains 1,155 students. The other…

During the last 5-10 years, a number of countries have introduced methods and systems for identifying, validating, and recognizing prior and nonformal learning that can be viewed as tools for improving the transparency and transfer of skills. In most cases, they have been operational for a comparatively short time, which makes it difficult to…

This paper describes a major reform effort of an elementary science curriculum called the Science: Parents, Activities, and Literature (Science PALs) Project. The goal of the project was to move teachers towards an interactive-constructivist model of teaching and learning that assumes a middle-of-the-road interpretation of constructivism where…

The factors influencing development of basic skills from birth to age 37 were examined by analyzing a sample of 1,700 people who were part of the National Child Development Study (NCDS), a longitudinal study in which data on more than 17,000 people who were born in Great Britain in a single week in 1958 were collected when they were 7, 11, 16, 23,…

This book is a practical guide for assessing the intended learning outcomes of classroom instruction. It is based on the premise that assessment of student achievement plays a vital role in instruction and that the main goal of assessment is to improve learning. The new title of this sixth edition reflects a shift from major concern with classroom…

A four-year private suburban college and a city public school district collaboratively provided teacher education courses to paraprofessionals working with special needs students in general education classes. The two teacher education courses, offered on the school district's premises, were Teaching, Learning, and Growth and Instructional…

This study investigated professional development as provided through the Teacher Leadership Academy (TLA) model used in rural Illinois area school districts and district consortia. Surveys were distributed to TLA participants that sought their perceptions of the desirability, involvement, and feasibility of school reform in general and the…

This paper focuses on the data ramification of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998. Section 1 provides an outline of the role of these postsecondary institutions under WIA: members of the State and local boards; one-stop operators; one-stop partners; and eligible service…

Changes in public education are well under way, with a shift from emphasis on resources and processes to an emphasis on results, from reliance on anecdote to demands for evidence, from rules for compliance to expectations for performance. There is also recognition that economic status and quality of life are tied to the level of education attained…

This book provides K-12 teachers with information about effective teaching and learning tools. Each innovation has a long history of use and has been researched and evaluated in a variety of settings. The innovations foster a student-centered classroom environment that is equitable and rigorous. The nine chapters focus on: (1) "The Power of…

Designed for front-line training professionals, this book addresses the most pressing issues in the training and development field (T&D). "Introduction" (Lisa A. Burke) discusses the importance of viewing training as a subsystem of human resources, training as a systematic process, and indicators of high impact training.…