The Governor's School of North Carolina (West) serves 400 gifted high school students each summer with a curriculum of cognitive development, conceptual development, and personal and social development. This paper describes the theory of the school, student selection, and plans for the future. (JDD)

Describes activities sponsored by some of the 28 state Centers for the Books, affiliated with the national Center for the Book at the Library of Congress, that were created to stimulate public interest in books, reading, and libraries. Highlights include electronic bulletin boards, satellite conferences, and children's book fairs. (LRW)

Discusses resource sharing among libraries based on a study of data from the Illinois Library Computer Systems Organization (ILCSO). Highlights include differences in borrowing patterns based on the size of libraries, lending/borrowing ratios, and the volume of resource-sharing activity compared to other factors. (LRW)

Illustrates trends and issues associated with public policies promoting early childhood program accreditation. Describes differential rate policies in Florida, New Mexico, Kentucky, Mississippi, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Oklahoma; support provided for accreditation in Arizona, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Texas, and Wisconsin; and linking…

A new approach for examining the quality of judgments from standard-setting judges using a Binomial Trials Model (BTM) is presented and illustrated with 26 judges from the Georgia High School Graduation Test. Results suggest that the BTM provides information not available from other methods. (SLD)

This study empirically examined the behaviors of item and person statistics derived from item response theory and classical test theory, focusing on item and person statistics and using a large-scale statewide assessment. Findings show that the person and item statistics from the two measurement frameworks are quite comparable. (SLD)

Summarizes information presented in the American Association on Mental Retardation's 1998 publication, "State of the States in Developmental Disabilities" (Braddock, Hemp, Parish, and Westrich), which reports data on the implementation of managed care for persons with developmental disabilities. A table summarizes information about…

Investigates types of vocational-rehabilitation services received and the employment outcomes of state vocational-rehabilitation consumers with serious mental illness. Five service patterns were revealed; a moderate relationship between these patterns and occupational outcome was found. Planned contrasts of wages by service pattern indicated that…

An investigation of smoking polices and smoking practices of residents and employees in 106 Massachusetts state-supported residential programs found that state-operated programs prohibited employees from smoking in residences and restricted residents who smoked to designated areas. One-third of vendor-operated agencies allowed residents and staff…

Describes the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Statewide Systemic Initiatives Program (SSIP) and its intent to improve math and science education at state levels. Discusses changes in the administration of the program, failures, and successes. (WRM)

Fossey's perspectives on legal issues faced by personnel in school districts are too generalized and fail to account for specific problems faced by individual districts and efforts made to cope with them. Illustrates the discussion with examples from the Miami-Dade County Public School System (Florida). (SLD)

Acknowledges the exemplary hiring practices of the Miami-Dade County (Florida) School District, but reiterates that throughout the United States, many professional educators are hired who lack the skills, compassion, and creativity to be in charge of children's education. (Author/SLD)

Surveyed 31 state preschool programs to determine whether entrusting Head Start to the states would be a sound policy decision. Findings suggest that state initiatives vary widely in design, implementation, and quality. Finds reasons for serious concern regarding devolution of Head Start from federal to state control. (SLD)

Explores alternatives for reporting state dropout data and high school completion rates based on Common Core of Data information. Analyses find that the major types of nonstandard dropout reporting practices have statistically significant, but different, effects on the size of state dropout rates. (Author/SLD)

A review of the current status of state prepaid tuition plans and savings trust plans suggests that there is an accelerating trend toward participation in such programs. Also notes competition among programs and some problems (such as a negative audit in Colorado). (DB)