The cost-effective use of communications technologies to extend adult learning opportunities is one way state policymakers can face the challenge of responding to growing demands for essential public services. The major new educational technologies that are available are television, radio, telephone, computers, communications satellites, and…

In response to serious concerns about the dramatic increases in college and university costs, the Department of Education solicited proposals in May 1987 for innovative projects to explore means of cost reduction or containment which promise significant cost savings, whether accrued in the short- or long-term. The solicitation for cost containment…

This report is a preliminary analysis of data provided by the 7 North Dakota and 14 Missouri schools involved in the German I by Satellite Program during the 1987-88 school year. In May 1988 each of the 21 schools participated in the first phase of a comprehensive distance learning study, the purpose of which was to identify the factors associated…

This monograph contains two studies that investigated adult learning as it occurred within specific communities. "The Formation of Literacy Perspective" (Linda Ziegahn) examines the perspective toward literacy that was developed by 27 Montana adults experiencing reading and writing difficulties, 15 of whom were Native Americans. Four…

The first part of this paper discusses two principal forms elaborated upon in previous literature for describing the relation between per pupil operating costs and school enrollment size. The first of these forms indicates that average per pupil costs decline up to a point as enrollment increases, reach a minimum, and then rise with further school…

Many schools across the United States have been using distance learning technologies to help them meet new state-mandated curriculum requirements. Distance learning refers to the live, simultaneous transmission of a master teacher's lessons from a host classroom or studio to receive site classrooms in distant locations. Schools with the most to…

Within the context of current discussions on improving urban public education, this report provides an analysis of the magnet school as a model for educational quality and excellence and gives an objective assessment of its potential as a method of improving urban education. A comparative case study methodology combined the collection of…

This report discusses findings from a comprehensive national survey of the effectiveness of magnet schools in improving the quality of public education and in assisting school desegregation. Chapter I provides background information on the concept and evolution of magnet schools; discusses the purposes of the national survey and several issues…

This evaluation of the second-year (1986-87) implementation of the New York City (New York) Dropout Prevention Initiative (DPI) in 13 high schools focuses on student characteristics and outcomes, with a discussion of a set of statistical data on program services, findings on school-level indicators of program effectiveness, and an analysis of…

In this guide the logic of product evaluation is described in a framework that is meant to be general and adaptable to all kinds of evaluations. Evaluators should consider using the logic and methods of product evaluation when (1) the purpose of the evaluation is to aid evaluators in making a decision about purchases; (2) a comprehensive…

New curriculum materials are necessary to improve vocational education. Even when new materials are developed, however, they often fail to improve programs, either because teachers are not taught how to manage and use the new instructional materials, or because the environment does not allow change. The role of administrators is to encourage…

A project was begun in 1978 to test the feasibility of a high-skill training program that would prepare welfare recipients for well-paying jobs in the private sector. The training for this specially selected Work Incentive Program (WIN) was to be provided by two Bell and Howell schools, one in Columbus, Ohio, and the other in Chicago. Training…

Independent schools (that is, nontraditional proprietary and nonprofit private colleges) that specialize in shorter term technical, vocational, and business curricula are doing a better job providing short-term vocational education than are traditional two- and four-year colleges that typically offer a wide variety of degrees. While traditional…

In order to provide guidance for agencies in developing effective programs for pregnant and parenting teens, this article analyzes data from 21 federally funded care programs involved in a national evaluation. First, the question of a program's location and structure was addressed. Rural projects were found to be less service-rich than their urban…

This paper describes the problem and consequences of preschool poverty and outlines the potential contributions of high quality preschool child development programs towards lessening the magnitude of the problem. Data indicate that among children under 6 years of age one in four is now living in poverty, and in 17 states more than one fourth of…