California has provided other states with an example of how not to assess student writing and has initiated a new direction in the statewide assessment of student writing achievement, a direction designed to influence writing instruction positively. Before 1987, the California Assessment Program (CAP) limited English skills assessment to multiple…

This handbook was designed to assist adult basic education (ABE) program operators in developing and implementing programs responsive to local needs and resources. The handbook was prepared based on information gathered during a search of related literature, contributions of ABE practitioners, input from the project advisory committee, and the…

Seven papers from the Mbabane workshop are presented in the first part of this report: (1) "An Overview of the Supply of Information in Swaziland" (E. Wamala); (2) "The Place of a Documentation Centre in the Supply of Information in Swaziland: Problems and Prospects" (M. M. Nhlapo); (3) "The Concept of Cooperation in…

Although student interest is greater than ever, college forensics programs are limited in their expansion by budget considerations that restrict travel. However, with reasonable effort and perseverance new programs can be initiated or existing ones expanded to integrate the educational community and the community at large into a forensics program.…

This report contains 43 recommendations for improving the quality of beginning teachers in Georgia through reform of undergrduate teacher education. The report also addresses issues outside the domain of teacher preparation institutions when these issues affect the pool of beginning teachers. Recommendations concentrate on five major areas of…

As a part of its mandate for equal access to vocational training for special needs individuals, the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1984 stipulated that if disadvantaged individuals require separate programming to enable them to participate in vocational education, federal funds may be used to pay 50 percent of the cost…

During 1985, the Center for Professional Development of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory identified and supported five internships in various aspects of educational research and development work. Programs with which the interns were affiliated included a goal-based education program, the Center for Sex Equity, an assessment and…

This publication reviews available literature regarding apprenticeship in the United States and 17 other industrialized market-economy nations. It notes outstanding practices that may be replicated or transferred to strengthen U.S. apprenticeship. The publication begins by defining apprenticeships and outlining the unique features of U.S.…

This paper notes that vocational education has been associated with economic growth since the turn of the century, when such growth was used as a justification for the funding of early vocational training. Today, vocational education's contributions to economic growth include efforts such as employer demand research, dislocated worker programs,…

In winter 1985, a survey of all California community colleges was conducted to identify and describe the types of programs and services provided by the colleges to students with developmental disabilities (DD). Questionnaires mailed to all 106 community colleges yielded a 100% response rate. Study findings included the following: (1) 44% of the…

This issue of the Courier contains articles loosely connected to each other by the underlying theme of developing people's capacity to improve the quality of their lives. The following articles are included: "Development of Human Resources--A Basic Needs Approach," by Mohiuddin Ahmad; "Rural Poverty," by the United Nations Food…

A study was conducted to determine how job clubs help two-year college students with learning disabilities improve their job-seeking skills and knowledge of the world of work in preparation for making a successful transition from school to work. The approach was based on a previous demonstration project in which job clubs showed promising results…

Principles and characteristics of program quality review are described as one means of evaluating values-based outcomes of day programs for persons with mental retardation. Program quality review may be distinguished from other evaluation systems in its focus on program outcomes--what actually happens to the people in the program--rather than on…

This paper reports on the degree to which teacher educators have addressed the current calls for reform in teacher education. The data were taken from the Institutional Questionnaire of the Research about Teacher Education (RATE) Project of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). The 90 respondents, each representing…

Microcomputers have revolutionized distance education in virtually every area. Used alone, personal computers provide students with a wide range of utilities, including word processing, graphics packages, and spreadsheets. When linked to a mainframe computer or connected to other personal computers in local area networks, microcomputers can…