The "29th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2007" follows the 2006--i.e., the 28th annual report--in sequence. The "29th Annual Report to Congress" is, however, the first to have three volumes. In the 28th and earlier editions, volume 2 consisted of data tables…

Tennessee Code Annotated 49-5-108 specifies that the State Board of Education "with the assistance of the department of education and the Tennessee higher education commission, shall develop a report card or assessment on the effectiveness of teacher training programs." The State Board is directed to "annually evaluate performance…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires that all students be assessed academically in mathematics and reading, and for purposes of adequate yearly progress (AYP), participation rates in statewide assessments must be 95 percent for all students. Federal law requires states to have at least one alternate assessment to evaluate the performance…

This descriptive research study reported on Georgia's secondary level (grades 6-12) technology education programs capability to incorporate engineering concepts and/or engineering design into their curriculum. Participants were middle school and high school teachers in the state of Georgia who currently teach technology education. Participants…

The reported study in this paper examined the continuing viability of Florida's 2+2 articulation agreement by comparing academic success and persistence among Florida public community college graduates (n = 1,738) and native (n = 874) juniors at three universities. Discriminant analysis yielded statistically significant differences. Transfer…

To improve teaching and assessment for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities and to truly ensure that state accountability systems address the performance of these students, a better understanding of the instructional effects of accountability systems as perceived by school leaders (i.e., principals) is critically important.…

This article examines how the states plan to implement the Programs of Study (POS) that were mandated by the 2006 reauthorization of the federal legislation for career and technical education. A coding system was developed for summarizing the methods described in the plans of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.…

In this study, the researchers investigated public school teacher attrition in the State of Texas. The study examined the problem by focusing on the predominant reasons teachers give for leaving the profession after working only one year as a teacher. Eight persons who had left the teaching profession after one year teaching were contacted and…

A study was conducted to estimate the disabled population of Minnesota, provide information on the severity and nature of the disabilities, and identify the unmet needs of the disabled. Interview data was obtained on 6,730 Minnesotans. Approximately 14.5% of non-institutionalized Minnesotans were found to have functional disabilities, the majority…

When consideration in any state must be given to the relevancy and adequacy of certification standards for specialists, it is often advantageous to survey the practices of other states. Since certification patterns for school psychologists are presently being evaluated in Ohio, it was felt that the practices of other states should be surveyed. On…

Surveys of adult and continuing education programs in music were undertaken in the various states, including Illinois. The purposes of the surveys were to identify existing music programs, assess their overall effectiveness, and stimulate interest in them. A letter-questionnaire was mailed to the mayors of over 850 cities and towns in Illinois;…

The empirical effects of adherence of details of the Total Design Method (TDM) approach to the design of mail surveys is discussed, based on the implementation of a common survey in 11 different states. The results suggest that greater adherence results in higher response, especially in the later stages of the TDM. (BW)

A survey following a 1978 Michigan tax-limitation election indicates that tax-limit supporters were far more likely to vote than were opponents. This supports the "alienation" hypothesis that voters who differ from the majority will be less likely to vote. Available from Executive Director, NTA-TIA, 21 East State Street, Columbus, OH…

This chartbook uses the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) to report on recent findings on children with special health care needs (CSHCN) in the United States. The NSCH provides a unique view of CSHCN in the context of where they live, play and go to school. It also allows comparisons to children without special health care needs.…