The Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) is a relatively new, statewide performance assessment of students in grades 3, 5, and 8. When first administered in May of 1991, the MSPAP included a battery of performance assessment tasks designed to generate written or drawn responses to reading texts. This study evaluated selected…

Based on a pilot program developed in the Los Angeles (California) Public Library, this guide provides the materials and information needed for introducing a "Grandparents and Books" (GAB) program in a public library. The Los Angeles program was designed to bring together the city's elderly population with children who have no one to…

Many parents of children at risk for failure do not participate in school-related activities. Some parents have a negative view of all school contacts. This practicum examined ways to engage parents of children at risk of failure in informative and self-help experiences that helped the parents feel more connected with the school experience. Eight…

Invitational education maintains that each individual possesses relatively untapped potential for intellectual and psychological development and that this potential may best be realized in a nurturing environment. Utilizing an invitational approach to physical education, physical education teachers may invite students to succeed. Guidelines for…

Four Ontario universities with extensive distance education programs were surveyed to obtain information on the nature and extent of the interaction that exists among tutors, students, and peers in undergraduate distance education programs. A total of 84 tutors and 447 students completed the questionnaires, which elicited information on the…

The findings of a study that examined the impact of peace studies courses at the college and university level upon students is reported. The study involved 260 undergraduate students at 3 midwestern universities. At the beginning of each course, students filled out a questionnaire; at the end of the course, students were given identical…

The study described here was conducted to examine the impact of reforms made to an elementary education program which include broadened supervised practicums experience for all education methods courses thereby creating a link between theory and practice. Specific attention was given to prospective teachers' perceptions of the usefulness of their…

A study was done at the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada) examining the experiences, concerns and interests of college freshmen. Of 65 entering students who agreed to participate, 37 signed up for the study in September, 1988, with 24 women and 4 men completing all study requirements: completion of a daily diary; bimonthly unstructured…

In response to interest from the Higher Education Advisory Council and a mandate from the 1985 Minnesota Legislature, Higher Education Coordinating Board staff conducted a project with three major goals: (1) to assess and report on the uses of information technologies in Minnesota postsecondary education; (2) to initiate collaborative activities…

This study examined whether students at the Northeast Missouri State University felt the present Liberal Arts and Sciences Core Study requirements allowed enough freedom in choosing classes, and how students would respond to more free electives. Responses of 508 students were obtained to a questionnaire addressing the following areas: (1) how…

Family Friends is an intergenerational program that brings senior volunteers into the lives of children with disabilities or chronic illnesses. JobStart is a training program in which volunteers help children with disabilities who are 10 years of age or older prepare to enter the world of work. A JobStart team is formed for each child in the…

The Alaska Science Pilot was a one-semester pilot study, undertaken from January to June of 1989 and funded largely by federal Migrant Funds. Students used the high school level general science course called "Alaska Science," which is comparised of ten 3-week text workbook units of study which deal primarily in Alaskan applications of…

One way for agencies to reduce fiscal stress is to minimize employee turnover. A project undertaken by San Bernardino County (California) to reduce employee turnover through the development, validation, and use of a non-traditional worker selection instrument (biographical inventory) is described. This project was aimed at the specific…

This manual provides documentation and guidance for users of the public release data files for the Early Childhood Education (ECE) component of the 1991 National Household Education Survey (NHES:91). Information is presented about the purpose of the study, the data collection instruments, the sample design, and data collection and data processing…

The Infant Follow Along Program (IFAP) is an interagency effort to improve the identification of infants and toddlers who may experience health or developmental problems because of medical or environmental risk factors. The program also facilitates data collection and referral for services for infants and families. The program is in use in an…