A report provides summaries of 10 papers presented at a conference about teacher competence and effectiveness. In the first session, two speakers, Nel Noddings and Edward R. Fagan, present an analysis of the prevailing rhetoric in educational discourse and practice. The second session provides historical perspectives on the use of the term…

The recruitment of foreign college students and the controls over foreign students in the United States were reviewed. The General Accounting Office interviewed officials and studied the files of the Department of Education (ED), the Department of State, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). In addition, information was obtained…

In the United States and in most of the world, a recent trend in education has been movement away from single-sex secondary schooling and toward coeducation. Single-sex schools are closing or merging for reasons that often have very little to do with the academic merits of coeducation or single-sex education at the secondary level. This study…

This report summarizes the discussions of a task force which focused on the concept of professional practice schools. These schools are public elementary, middle, or secondary schools which are structured, staffed, and supported to achieve three goals: student achievement, teacher induction, and support of research directed at the continuous…

Following an introduction, this final report presents the bulk of its information in sections on (1) the literacy services of the City University of New York, community-based organizations, and the New York City Board of Education; and (2) the literacy services of the New York City public library. Within the first section, the following subjects…

The U.S. General Accounting Office studied the characteristics of individual participants in training provided by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), the kinds and intensity of services they received, and the occupations in which they were employed after leaving the program. Visits to 63 randomly selected service delivery areas provided…

The monograph interprets individualized education program (IEP) requirements of Part B of Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. After introductory information outlining the purpose of the IEP and basic IEP requirements, a question and answer format of 60 questions provides specific details. Nine inserts highlight major…

Poor educational performance and the changing nature of work and workers have prompted calls for a major restructuring of American schools. The following broad categories of restructuring options are discussed and supporting research is reviewed: (1) decentralizing authority over schooling through school-based management, more professional…

In 1989, North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) conducted a study of transfer students to examine the relative effect of college attendance on academic achievement, transfer students' satisfaction with their college experience, and the college's fulfillment of general education goals. The study examined the length of exposure to college…

One of the changes advocated by the Regular Education Initiative (REI) is the placement of all students with disabilities in regular education classes. This paper analyzes this REI proposal and discusses four objections, with citations to relevant literature: (1) restriction of the continuum of services, which may result in students being put…

This paper addresses the following questions: (1) What skills are needed in the U.S. economy? (2) What are citizens getting from U.S. schools? and (3) How does the United States get what is needed? The paper is divided into three sections. The first section, "The Transformation of the American Economy," examines the following data…

In this report four educators discuss the issues which they see to be most current in the fields of testing, measurement and evaluation. The first section discusses the mastery of basic skills, defined by minimum levels of competence. Factors such as accountability, social policy, instructional implications, and psychometric issues are brought to…

The importance of legislative initiatives to improve postsecondary education is discussed, along with mechanisms that legislatures have used to induce change in higher education, and guidelines for action. Structural obstacles to improvements that have confronted most public colleges include lack of clear priorities, fragmented responsibilities,…

The main theme of the conference was the politics of adult education research. The following papers from the conference are included in this compilation, following the opening address (Nisbet): "Some Tension Points in Adult Education Research" (Bryant and Usher); "Key Issues in Adult Education Research" (Gerver); "Some…

Reporting of zero/low income by applicants for Basic Educational Opportunity Grants (BEOGs) was studied, with attention to the extent that such reporting was inaccurate. The BEOG applicant database was studied to gain understanding of the characteristics of those who report zero-income on Basic Grant applications. A random sample of 400,000 BEOG…