This paper aims to provide practical advice for creating a placement test for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) or English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) instruction. Three forms of concrete assistance are provided: a detailed literature review; detailed steps focusing on the creation of placement tests; and a set of recommendations focusing on…

In fall 2000, all 3,506 superintendents in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin received a survey that asked them to report on the strategies they had implemented to attract and retain teachers and on how effective those strategies had been. The survey was designed to collect basic information about a variety of…

This conference paper discusses the results of a study that investigated the characteristics and needs of mothers participating in Hawaii's Healthy Start Program (HSP). The HSP is a screening and outreach program with two components: (1) the early identification component, which consists of community-based screening to identify newborns at…

This report discusses the outcomes of a study that examined the influence and additive effects of student demographic characteristics on student placement in special education programs in Michigan. Using a combination of outside data and the Michigan Department of Education Student Database (1999), statewide findings indicate that taken…

This study examined teacher qualifications and out-of-field teaching using National Center for Education Statistics' Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) data from 1988-00. It emphasized teachers without a major, minor, or certification in the subject taught and teachers without a major and certification in the subject taught. Overall, in middle…

This report presents the results of a 1999 study on the employment and continuing education status of 1998 Community College of Rhode Island graduates. A survey for the class of 1998 was distributed to 1203 graduates. Two mailings and a telephone follow-up survey resulted in 1106 respondents (78.8 percent response rate). Eighty-three percent of…

A national study estimated the short-term impacts of Job Corps (JC) on participants' employment and related outcomes during the 30 months after random assignment. Results for the short-term impact analysis were based on a comparison of eligible program participants randomly assigned to a program group (n=9,409) or a control group (n=5,977) that…

Some of the reasons for the overrepresentation of minority students in special education programs are reviewed from historical and contemporary perspectives, and the effects of this overrepresentation and some of the proposals to eliminate, or at least remedy, this situation are examined. In the 1960s, many people rejected the genetic explanations…

This report contains enrollment data about the North Carolina Division of Social Services Work First clients who were enrolled in North Carolina community colleges curriculum and extension programs during the academic years 1995-96, 1996-97, and 1997-98. North Carolina's welfare reform initiative, Work First, is the State's Temporary Assistance to…

This paper discusses the outcomes of a study that examined local response to the implementation of the least restrictive environment (LRE) provision for preschool children with disabilities within two counties in New York State during the 1994-97 school years. Open-ended interviews were conducted with four groups in each county: Committee on…

This guide for North Dakota parents provides an overview of the special education process and the rights of students with disabilities and their families. Section 1, "The Special Education Process," provides answers to questions on the following topics that parents might have about the special education process: special education…

This guide focuses on these two key challenges that states and localities have identified as important for the long-term success of welfare reform and work force development efforts: helping low-income parents sustain employment (steady work) and advance in the work force (better jobs). The guide consists of five parts and is structured to…

This document reports on student outcomes in developmental English and mathematics courses at Germanna Community College (Virginia) for the academic period 1994-2000. The study addressed four main issues: (1) the proportion of students enrolled in developmental math and English courses; (2) the success rate for students in developmental courses;…

This memorandum from the federal Office of Special Education Programs to chief state school officers presents questions and answers related to the obligations of public agencies in serving children with disabilities who are placed by their parents in private schools under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997. The 45…

Information on test-takers collected at the time of examinations provides a rich description of AP students, but what are the characteristics of their teachers? The current study provides a glimpse into these characteristics by summarizing the results of the largest survey of AP teachers to date (32,109 responses). The AP Teacher Survey contained…