Many school districts experience difficulties attracting and retaining teachers, and schools in urban areas serving economically disadvantaged and minority students appear particularly vulnerable to these problems. This paper investigates factors that affect the probabilities that teachers will switch schools or exit the public schools entirely.…

A study examined effects of the Self-Sufficiency Project (SSP) Plus program. A small group of long-term income assistance (IA) recipients in New Brunswick was offered an earnings supplement and employment services (SSP Plus); a second group was offered the regular SSP earnings supplement only; and a third group was offered neither supplement nor…

As community assets, schools are central to community development and are best suited to provide a learning community that can build the whole community's capacity to address educational disadvantage. Community capacity building means strengthening a community's ability to become self-reliant by increasing social cohesion and social capital. In…

This report provides state-by-state information on the characteristics and performance of schools and students in each state, information useful for monitoring the progress and evaluating the success of education reforms. The report contains two-page profiles that report the same indicators for each state and the District of Columbia. The…

The Longitudinal Evaluation of School Change and Performance followed the progress of students in high-poverty schools as they moved from third to fifth grade, investigating the impact on student achievement of specific classroom practices fostered by school-, district-, and state-level policies. This analysis, conducted between 1996-99 as part of…

The Longitudinal Evaluation of School Change and Performance (LESCP) analyses were organized around policies embodied in Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This study measured changes in student performance in seventy-one high-poverty schools, which included many schools that had implemented standards-based reform policies. The…

The Adult Education and Literacy System (AELS) has been systematizing and promoting adult education in the United States since 1966, when the Adult Education Act (AEA) was passed. Today, some 4,000 organizations operate under the rules and regulations of the latest reauthorization of the AEA, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA).…

Despite significant developments on the economic front, the Pakistani government's human development efforts have failed to serve the needs of the poor. Whereas the rural poor do not trust government schemes, they do trust nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), most of which are apolitical community-based grassroots organizations accountable to…

"Science Briefs" summarize the findings and implications of a recent study in basic science or clinical research. This brief reports on the study "Contemporaneous and Longitudinal Associations between Social Behavior and Literacy Achievement in a Sample of Low Income Elementary School Children" (S. B. Miles and D. Stipek). In two groups of…

Improvements in lifelong learning are necessary for a range of overlapping reasons, including changing needs of the labour force in a globalised economy, the aging of the population in high-income countries and inequalities in education, work and income. Increased lifelong learning, for all, is important for productivity, but also to support…

This 2004 survey from the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) and Grunwald Associates includes data from 455 school district decision-makers for technology. The report points to large and growing disparities in funding for school technology and questions if these differences signal a growing digital divide. The survey reveals, schools are…

This report is the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation's first ever comprehensive analysis of education reform and results in the 50 states. For each of them, this report examines: (1) student achievement, with a focus on poor and minority students; (2) achievement trends since the early 1990s for these same students; and (3) reform efforts centering on…

The AACC/SBC Excelerator project enabled community colleges and their partners in six states to expand special outreach and technology workforce training programs to people who are often ignored in the new economy: low-income adults, members of racial and ethnic minorities, welfare-to-work clients, at-risk youth, people with disabilities, and…

This action research project implemented a program for improving social skills in order to establish positive interaction among 4th grade students at a northern Chicago suburban school. Social skills deficiency was documented through behavior checklists and referrals, teacher observations and student reflection. Teachers reported that low incomes,…

A collaborative parent-community-school (PCS) model facilitates the involvement of disadvantaged and minority parents, community leaders, and community organizations in educational improvement activities, with a focus on at-risk children and youth in high-risk communities. PCS has a more comprehensive agenda than parent participation, and…