This digest reviews testing and score reporting requirements contained in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and examines factors that could delay or dilute the Act's guarantee of educational accountability for the academic achievement of all children. It outlines how states will implement federally-mandated testing requirements,…

To inform policymakers as they deliberate over the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) reauthorization, this guide reviews what states have done with the flexibility afforded them by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. The first section examines how states have shaped their welfare reform strategies…

This paper details the work of Demos and the Learning and Skills Development Agency to examine how new institutional structures for supporting lifelong learning can develop in ways that best support community-based learning activities in the United Kingdom. Three seminar background papers and notes are provided, each followed by seminar notes.…

Six programs are profiled that garner both deep engagement and high achievement from young people. All build upon fundamental needs of adolescent life: to register positive impact upon the world, to feel respected and connected, and to construct one's own narrative. A community action initiative at a high school in Texas' Rio Grande Valley is…

This report describes a program for increasing academic growth through motivating students to read. The targeted population includes kindergarten, first, third, and high school special education students. The lack of motivation in reading was documented through data revealed by pre-surveys and post-surveys of students' interest in books. Analysis…

This book focuses on ways teachers can modify their teaching in order to increase the academic achievement of students from the racial and ethnic groups that are experiencing massive failure in U.S. schools, and consequently in society. Modifying instruction to improve the academic achievement of African American and Latino students will benefit…

This paper examines the discourse on Aboriginal higher education in Australia from the 1960s through the 1990s through an analysis of educational reports and government policy documents on tertiary education. Early in this period, the focus was on education as "welfare," but the emphasis shifted towards equity in higher education policy during the…

Children in foster care are the most educationally at risk population in New York City, and the longstanding failure of the responsible agencies to address the educational needs of foster children in New York City is a problem that has, for the most part, been ignored. This paper reports on a study aimed at creating a database to inform the…

In September 1999, a pilot program of Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) was introduced in 15 local education authorities (LEAs) in England to provide payments to students aged 16-19 who are from low-income families and who are attending full-time courses in schools and colleges. Participants are entitled to 2 years' support and must be…

Every school day, hundreds of West Virginia children ride school buses much longer than state guidelines say they should. Under those guidelines, no elementary student should be on the bus more than 30 minutes one way, middle school students 45 minutes, and high school students 1 hour. In fall 1999, public hearings about school transportation…

This paper describes a project that provided television set-top Internet access devices to Latino families as part of a project to link the school and home in an inquiry-based science curriculum. The early phases of adoption of the Internet and the "NetTV" devices by families are described, with special attention to the different ways…

This report provides an overview of Texas enrollment trends and growth of special instructional programs, and redistribution of the student population geographically and by community type. National enrollment trends are also presented. In the 10 years from 1987-88 to 1997-98, Texas public school enrollment increased at a faster rate than national…

This annual report provides information about dropouts in Texas public schools for the 1996-97 school year. The report includes (1) historical dropout information; (2) a summary of dropout rates based on dropout characteristics and school district characteristics; (3) a listing of dropout rates broken down by county, district, and campus; and (4)…

In 1987, the Annie E. Casey Foundation invited 10 medium-sized U.S. cities to apply to be part of the "New Futures" project, a program designed for cities that showed willingness and capacity to experiment with comprehensive, collaborative, public-private approaches to the multiple problems of at-risk children. Eventually, five cities…

This report focuses on implementation, impacts, and time limit in Florida's Family Transition Program (FTP), a welfare reform initiative. Chapter 1 describes FTP and evaluation, target population, and data. Chapter 2 describes implementation of FTP in Escambia County: staffing and organizational structure of FTP and traditional Aid to Families…