This brief report describes efforts of the Oklahoma State Regents to accelerate positive academic change in the state's higher education system with a combination of strengthened admission, retention, and assessment standards. The first section presents the state's problem of lagging performance during the late 1980s, as indicated by data showing…

This report presents findings of a nationwide study of student transitions from secondary to postsecondary education that is based on a survey of state higher education agencies and site visits to six states. The report finds a growing role for state higher education agencies in setting minimum college admissions requirements, coexistence of…

This report, from the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, concentrates on the current status of transfer and articulation in Washington during 1997-98. It opens with an executive summary and introduction, outlining the process and results of the report, and a description of Washington's historical context of transfer and…

This report analyzes the economic and demographic trends for women over the last decade in terms of their educational attainment, participation in the labor force, and position in academia as students, faculty, and administrators. It found that the number of women who have completed 4 or more years of college has doubled over the last two decades,…

The 1998 High School Transcript Study (HSTS) provides the U.S. Department of Education and other policymakers about current course offerings and students' course taking patterns. In 1998 the nationally representative sample for the HSTS included 25,422 students graduating in 1994 from 264 high schools. Approximately 94% of the sampled students…

President Bush's comprehensive education plan includes major initiatives in areas ranging from accountability to school safety. While breaking new ground in some areas, Bush's plan accelerates the progress states have made in improving quality, performance, and flexibility in public education. This status report reviews the progress of states in…

This study investigated the impact of homelessness on the health of parents and the health and education of their children living in East Lothian, Scotland, and was carried out over a 6-month period from December 1999. In-depth interviews were conducted with 19 parents and children who were currently experiencing or who had experienced…

This paper explores the potential pitfalls associated with the new federal accountability role precipitated by the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act. The paper presents worst-case scenarios with the assumption that it is worthwhile to consider the potential for unanticipated consequences so as to avoid problems before they occur. After…

In 2002 the Supreme Court decided that tuition vouchers for private and religious schools do not violate the First Amendment's establishment clause. With "Zelman v. Simmons-Harris," the case in question, the Court put the school-choice debate back in the political arena, where it belongs, according to this position paper/policy brief.…

Comparison of company practices regarding continuing training of employees shows great diversity among the 15 European Union member states. In 11 countries, over 70 percent of companies are "training involved" (TICs). South European countries have a low percentage of TICs; the proportion of TICs in north European countries is over 80…

This report on the educational systems in China and South Africa compares the policies and processes of the two countries as they attempt to expand and improve rural education. Both countries experienced a major political upheaval, and even though there is a 50-year time lag between these events, political changes ushered in radical educational…

Based on the view that the first years of school continue an educational process that began at birth, this report presents the first comprehensive look at learning opportunities for young children in Pennsylvania. The report describes programs in Pennsylvania for children from birth through 8 years of age, providing details on funding,…

For the last 15 years, a series of policy initiatives have advocated for development of employability skills by young and unemployed people in the United Kingdom. The call for these employability skills has been championed by these two distinct but related movements: the Key Skills Development Movement (KSDM) and the Enterprising Skills…

This document provides basic background on how public K-12 education is funded in the United States. It is intended to be a tool to help policymakers when creating an alignment between funding and accountability. This survey addresses briefly the following topics: how much public education costs; where the money comes from; how the money is spent;…

Twenty-one research articles originally published in the "Australasian Journal of Gifted Education" over the past decade are collected in this book and address aspects of gifted education including pedagogy and curriculum, policy and practice, social and emotional needs, school and family, neuropsychology and cognition, and special…