This report discusses the challenges and successes in creating an education system that meets the needs of all students in Texas. The first two sections provide background information on a project investigating the achievement of students with disabilities in high achieving, high poverty Texas elementary schools, and present a framework for this…

This research project was commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in 2004 to examine barriers to vulnerable children accessing examinations at the end of key stage 4 and to identify strategies employed to overcome these barriers. Key groups of vulnerable children identified by the DfES included: (1) Looked-after children;…

School readiness is important for children, for their families, and for society at large. The authors' exploration of school readiness focuses on how the home literacy environment, parenting behavior, and social characteristics affect two aspects of school readiness: basic skills, such as reading and math; and behavior problems, including…

What are the forces that will continue to shape the U.S. workforce and workplace over the next 10 to 15 years? With such inevitabilities as the proliferation and acceleration of technology worldwide, will more individuals work at home, will more businesses outsource their noncore functions -- and with what consequences? Answering such questions…

The "Research & Action Report," published twice a year, is a window on the activities and initiatives at the Wellesley Centers for Women. The report typically features news about the Centers, interviews with researchers, commentary on recent events or social trends affecting women and girls, announcements of new publications, and much more.…

State-mandated student testing in Ohio is a combination of three different initiatives: (1) competency-based education (CBE) assessment; (2) achievement and ability testing; and (3) proficiency testing. This report describes the current testing requirements and some of the characteristics of each of these types of assessment. CBE assessment was…

This participant handbook is composed of supplemental instructional materials for a course designed to teach the organization and management of training, including roles and functions performed and the needs, costs, benefits, and productivity of training systems. A course outline or syllabus provide a course description, course objectives, subject…

As career development becomes established in Canadian secondary schools, the pressure increases to use performance assessments to demonstrate both the effectiveness of programs and the soundness of instructional decisions. This digest examines issues surrounding performance assessments of career development programs. Performance assessments can be…

A study at Crowder College (Missouri) found that clustering within majors may prove helpful in evaluating and implementing long-range planning for student retention and academic success. The study, which included nursing, athletics, and Environmental Resource Center (ERC) students, identified factors aiding academic success: demonstrative goals,…

The State Job Training Coordinating Council (SJTCC) developed recommendations for a new workforce preparation system for California. Its 30 members represented industry and business, state and local government, local and community-based organizations, and the general public. Four committees that focused on four broad areas--coordination and…

This collection of readings is intended to provide a source book on best practices in staff development in higher education within a British context. The 13 papers are grouped into three parts: part 1 presents the educational development tradition which has focused on development of staff as teachers; part 2 considers development of staff in…

Forty-one middle school students in two eighth-grade classes were taught half of their science chapters in the conventional manner with homework assignments, and half of their chapters by having short classroom quizzes on each unit. Quizzes were expected to stimulate incentive motivation as a mediator between a goal object, mastery, and the…

This book is designed to show marketing education teachers how Missouri's Show-Me Knowledge and Performance Standards can be reflected in the Marketing Education Framework. It is organized to present each of the nine competency strands (instructional units) by learner outcome and competencies. The instructional units are as follows: communications…

The promotion of academic success has been linked to children's social and emotional wellness, reduction in risky behaviors, and promotion of social and emotional competence. This chapter briefly summarizes the evidence regarding the link between academic performance and health risk behaviors, including substance abuse, delinquency, teen sexual…

A team of university and public school mathematics educators designed performance-based mathematics assessment tasks designed to align with the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills for 93 students who had been identified as at-risk in mathematics. Scenarios were developed based on four contexts: (1) familiar activity; (2) social issue; (3)…