The Integrated Shop Program was initiated to improve occupational programs in Utah's small high schools so that the students in those schools would be better prepared to enter the job market or continue their education. Operating on a pilot basis for three years, the program has now extended its base from seven high schools to 19 high schools and…

This document reports on a day care program for children of working mothers, the 4-C program. This program is a federally sponsored effort conducted through community cooperation. Its goals include: (1) more and better child care, (2) mobilization of community resources and coordination of existing and new child care programs, (3) ensuring the…

This report outlines a program through which a State Employment Service, using existing resources, can provide employers and their workers with a broad range of technical services in order to improve productivity and make work more tolerable. The report is based on observations and analysis by a team of participant-observers of a Skill Improvement…

Under the provisions of Title IB of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (as amended), the Public Service Careers Plan B (PSC-B) program, funded by the U. S. Department of Labor, was designed to stimulate permanent employment opportunities for the disadvantaged and to encourage the upgrading of existing low-paid workers in agencies receiving…

The second year of effort in the development of a process evaluation system for the programs of the National Center for the Improvement of Educational Systems (NCIES) is reported. The activity involved the full-scale implementation of the system in 438 projects in 12 NCIES programs. Programs included are: Bilingual Education, Early Childhood,…

In order to determine the willingness of rural disadvantaged to participate in educational programs, 125 rural male Anglo and Mexican American household heads, both on and off welfare, were interviewed. The stratified sample was drawn from 4 Michigan counties. Based on findings from the 81 questions, these conclusions were made: Mexican Americans…

Many influential reviewers refuse to consider the central ideas and recommendations of Ravich and Finn in "What Do Our 17-Year Olds Know?" and Hirsch in "Cultural Literacy." One hopes this will not continue: the willingness of academicians to openly debate the problems and opportunities of improving our schools is crucial to…

Stark County is the 7th largest county in Ohio. In 2001 the researchers formed a P-16 Compact and began looking at the accomplishment of two goals: raising the high school graduation rate and increasing the number of students going from high school to college. Then as now, it was important for them to know the context of Stark County in Ohio and…

This report documents the Connecticut Department of Higher Education's efforts to investigate and document best practices in assessing student achievement as measured by workforce success. That effort is part of a five-state project to Define Best Practices for Responsible Accountability Models in Higher Education funded by a U.S. Department of…

The purpose of this guide is to provide a middle school literacy model, to describe practices and strategies of literacy education, and to assist school communities as they implement a balanced Turning Points literacy program that is responsive to the particular needs of middle school students. This guide includes: (1) the rationale for a Turning…

The 1998 High Schools That Work (HSTW) Assessment report contains good news for HSTW sites in the Appalachian Regional Commission area and provides information on specific practices that need improvement. This research brief summarizes the report's findings. Based on 196 schools in 9 Appalachian states, the report shows that school, district, and…

This tool was created in order to help young people and adults develop a common language for talking about how to improve schools. The tool provides educators, young people, administrators, policy makers, parents, community members and other stake holders with a common lens for reflecting on their schools and for planning change. It can also be…

This publication describes the school-improvement process in three schools participating in Middle Start, a comprehensive school-improvement program for schools with middle grades. Middle Start services, grounded in the Middle Start Principles and Practices, are tailored to a school's specific needs. The schools profiled are Bendle Middle School…

This paper describes the needs assessment activities that informed the design and development of M.Ed. and post-master's degree courses and programs to be delivered onsite and through distance technology support in rural areas. Two partner school systems participated in the needs assessment with three more currently involved in the programs.…

Literature linking self-concept and achievement, and evaluation research on educational programs to improve self-concept are analyzed in terms of several self-concept theories. Evidence for a causal connection between self-concept and achievement is negative. Researchers have failed to explore other theoretical approaches to educational change.…