This document is intended to guide special education policy in British Columbia (Canada) and stresses the basic elements of Individual Education Plans, school-based teams, district-wide planning, and resource sharing. After an introduction on how to use the guide (including a glossary of terms), the manual is divided into eight sections that…

The success of alternative assessments such as the Vermont Assessment Program (VAP) is heavily dependent on the involvement and commitment of teachers. This paper focuses on the implementation of the writing portfolio component of the VAP in the classrooms of four teachers who have different knowledge and beliefs about teaching and assessment. The…

This publication is a resource for North Carolina teachers of grade 3 through high school in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science. It describes five different ways to use "Item Bank Testlets," the sample test questions created for teachers to match goals and objectives in the state's "Standard Course of…

Texas is shifting to an integrated, systems-oriented approach to providing work force services for its residents and employers in which all services are guided by a single mission and vision. Implementation strategies are clearly focused on achieving common results. Accountability means being able to ensure taxpayers, residents, employers, and…

This paper offers an initial assessment of Texas' work force development evaluation and performance management efforts. Following an overview, section 2 clarifies distinctions between performance management and evaluation responsibilities such as purpose, definition, information produced, general question asked, and key questions addressed.…

This document presents principles and plans for a proposed Nebraska state program to provide integrated services to students who are deaf or hard of hearing. After an introduction which illustrates the overall model, the report identifies guiding principles for all programs serving children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Next, principles of…

In order to encourage school districts to include students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) in educational assessments, this report discusses issues involved in assessing students with LEP. Topics include: (1) the role of testing in education and the different types of tests mandated by educational reform legislation; (2) characteristics of…

This study examines the extent to which racial preferences are used in Colorado's 12 public colleges and universities and attempts to determine how the elimination of racial preferences would affect enrollment patterns in these schools. It uses actual admissions data from the State Commission on Higher Education. Detailed analysis shows that all…

This book examines the condition of America's poor and the policies used to help them, demonstrating that government aid has been far more effective in reducing poverty than most people think. One of the primary points of the book is that poverty is not synonymous with single mothers and their children on welfare; in fact, the majority of the poor…

Data from the California Development Department's Unemployment Insurance System were used to track the earnings and employment of more than 57,000 California Employment Training Panel (ETP) trainees served by ETP projects that ended in 1994-95 and 1995-96. ETP trainees' earnings gains averaged 15%, versus 11.8% in the case of similar workers who…

This report contains 36 1- or 2-page profiles of successful partnerships between Ohio businesses and industries and the EnterpriseOhio Network, a consortium of Ohio's two-year colleges and businesses formed to meet the state's work force development needs. The success stories illustrate how the EnterpriseOhio Network campuses and Ohio business,…

This report presents an evaluation of family preservation programs in Kentucky, New Jersey, and Tennessee, and a county program in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Key goals of these programs were reducing foster care placement, maintaining child safety, and improving family functioning. The statewide programs employed the Homebuilders program…

An evaluation was conducted of Vermont's Welfare Restructuring Project (WRP), one of the earliest statewide welfare reform programs designed to increase work and reduce reliance on welfare. To assess the difference WRP made, parents applying for or receiving cash assistance in Vermont from July 1994 to December 1996 were assigned randomly to one…

This instructional guide for a one-credit comprehensive laboratory course for grades 9-12 provides a broad range of knowledge and skills related to personal development and management, promotion of strong families, and preparation for adult roles. Introductory materials consist of a course description; overview of course design; facilities,…

This curriculum of life skills is designed to reduce recidivism, increase post-release employment and wage rates, and successfully integrate released inmates back into families and communities. It uses a newsletter format, with newsletters arranged into eight volumes. Each volume concerns a unit of related information, including an instructor…