This report reviews selected issues and progress to date in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in improving primary education quality and provides suggestions and recommendations for the future. The report examines: (1) learning, school completion, and grade repetition in LAC; (2) the relationships between primary school inputs and outputs in…

This report examines a variety of options that are being implemented in schools and in school-business partnerships to train workers for the increasingly technical and changing jobs of the future. The report contains eight sections that cover the following topics: (1) joining supply-side and demand-side policy at the local level (educational…

According to testimony delivered by Franklin Frazier, Director of Education and Employment Issues at the U.S. General Accounting Office, at a Joint Economic Committee hearing of the U.S. Congress, the United States falls short in preparing noncollege youth for employment. The foreign countries reviewed in a study (England, Germany, Japan, and…

Goal 5 of the Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning initiative of the U.S. Department of Education states that by the year 2000, every adult will be literate and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Flowing from this goal are the following five…

An outline is provided for a national educational assessment and improvement plan as suggested by the National Education Goals of 1990. The following implicit assumptions underlie National Education Objective 5.5: (1) abilities to think critically, communicate effectively, and solve problems can be defined and the definitions can be agreed upon as…

What has been learned from the study of relationships between abilities and outcomes learned in college and those abilities as they are performed at work is summarized to infer principles that should inform a national system to assess the higher order thinking and communications skills of college graduates in support of the National Education Goal…

The research evidence supporting current beliefs in testing is summarized, and critical qualities that good assessment should exemplify and the current state of the research knowledge on how to produce good assessment are reviewed. Research has demonstrated the difficulties of achieving meaningful improvement in schools and the shortcomings of…

An international team reviewed the system of vocational education and training (VET) in Poland and analyzed possible alternatives for the future. Some of the main conclusions and recommendations were as follows: (1) the most crucial issue is to change the very "logic" according to which the Polish VET system has been functioning; (2)…

Information is provided on factors associated with the effectiveness of continuation high schools in California. This Phase 2 report (following a Phase 1 study of 54 schools) is based on information gathered from 10 schools that were selected as among the more effective in the state at retaining students in school and graduating them.…

The Bibliographic Instruction Committee of the Wichita State (Kansas) University Libraries recommended changes to improve the current bibliographic instruction program for lower division undergraduates. The shortcomings of the current program, one class period in a required English course, were analyzed; and suggestions were made to improve the…

A study investigated factors supporting innovation in American Indian education by comparing data from two separate studies. One was a followup study of 25 Indian educators' implementation of cooperative learning and whole language techniques, which sought to identify: (1) the impact of the innovations on student achievement; and (2) factors that…

This report identifies issues and offers recommendations concerning the development of all three sectors of Iowa's higher education community (community colleges, independent colleges and universities, and regent colleges and universities). The report first outlines the educational environment within Iowa in terms of demographic, educational,…

Project PREPARE (Professional Renewal and Educational Preparation through Action Research Experiences) is a multi-year, collaborative effort between public schools, a regional intermediate school district, and a university. Its purpose is to develop a collaborative site of inquiry and practice where there is an emphasis on professional…

This report, based on national consultations with community, industry, and government stakeholders in Australia, as well as an analysis of the recommendations of 60 major reports on access and equity in vocational education and training prepared since 1990, brings together the key strategic areas where cooperative and concerted activity for access…

The names of the county, school, principal, district, and superintendent; address; phone number; grades served; and number of students are provided for each of the 50 award recipients of the City Schools of Excellence Grant Program in New Jersey. These New Jersey schools are engaging in a thorough and intensive program of schoolwide improvement.…