A technical note based on the Indonesian Nonformal Education Project discusses use of Q-sort, originally a research technique for studying small groups or individuals, as a needs assessment method. The background of Q-sort, designed to take subjective factors into account, is covered, and its use in needs assessment described: cards, each of which…

This report summarizes evaluation information on reading, writing, and mathematics achievement among elementary and secondary school students in 310 school districts in Massachusetts, after the second year of implementation of the Basic Skills Improvement Policy. The report describes data collection, analysis, and reporting procedures, summarizes…

This guide was designed to facilitate the sharing of successful program models, curricula, and educational strategies among community-based groups and to help make the education, philanthropic, and corporate communities more aware of the wealth of resources available from Hispanic community-based organizations. The guide includes brief profiles of…

The majority of higher education institutions accept responsibility to provide incentives and activities conducive to inservice education and professional growth of their faculty. In 1972-73 data were gathered from all higher education institutions to obtain information about specific ways institutions provide activities, opportunities, and/or…

An evaluation of a youth and economic opportunities agency's improvement program for preschool children is presented. Objectives of the Head Start program include: (1) Improving the child's physical health and abilities, (2) Helping the emotional and social development of the child, (3) Improving the child's mental processes and skills and…

The Southern Regional Education Board's (SREB) Making Schools Work (MSW) initiative works with clusters of high schools and their feeder middle grades to raise student achievement in rural areas. MSW is based on the belief that all students can complete an "advantaged" curriculum, although some students may require more time,…

This report warns that if current trends continue, the United States will lose is preeminence in science and technology and its leadership position in innovation. In this report, the Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) proposes a four-part action plan in which business, higher education, and policy leaders support P-12 education leaders in…

For much of the past 20 years, philanthropists have invested significant time, money and knowledge into the important task of improving the nation's education system. Collectively, their efforts have targeted all aspects of the system--from helping teachers upgrade their skills and knowledge to creating better curricula and classroom tools, from…

The Texas Study of Students at Risk (TxSSAR) is a comprehensive evaluation examining the effectiveness of three state-level programs with the common goal of helping students at risk of failure to achieve academically. The study comprises investigations of the Optional Extended Year Program (OEYP), the Texas After School Initiative (TASI), and the…

This booklet shows how to use new media and technology (i.e. computers, the Internet, on-demand printing and related technologies) and electronic media for educational applications. It has been prepared for inclusion in the Educational Practices Series developed by the International Academy of Education and distributed by the International Bureau…

Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, this issue looks at changes in cohort composition. The analysis addresses the changing composition of the Achieving the Dream student cohorts from 2002 to 2005. The data show that at Achieving the Dream colleges, the percentage of Hispanic students increased over the four cohorts…

This paper presents a description and analysis of the work of a group of primary grade teachers who decided to study their practices and engage their students in inquiry. Their school was in a lower socioeconomic area with a multiethnic student body. The political nature of their work is documented via two themes that emerged from their work. The…

A unique training program in high tech obstetrical, neonatal, and pediatric nursing care areas was designed to be offered on site at Orlando (Florida) Regional Medical/Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women. The training program offered 16 different courses to 355 employees over the 18-month period of the project. A needs assessment was…

South Carolina's School Incentive Reward Program Program (SIRP) based on year-to-year gains in reading and mathematics achievement, which seemed to have face validity, was evaluated, particularly its use of the relative gains of students in only the highest grade in the school as the basis for the awards. When this requirement was relaxed so that…

Educational revitalization is crucial for a nation facing a 20 percent functional illiteracy rate, as well as increasing foreign industrial challenges. Like America's auto manufacturers who returned to business basics and thus achieved a $10 billion reversal of fortunes in just 3 years, educators in a technical society must define their own…