Highlights a reading teacher in a small New York high school against the backdrop of increasing pressure to demonstrate accountability, sharing classroom observations in the context of the state's education reform agenda, regulations governing compensatory education and English language instruction, school funding, and Title I provisions, and…

Reviews what is known about the overall effectiveness of Title I programs and discusses how Title I can become a more effective intervention. Makes three policy recommendations for fostering better research and better programs, centering on accountability, continued research and development, and randomized experimental studies of promising…

Historically, specialized schools for the blind were the only options for educational programming available to students with visual impairments. Throughout the 19th century and into the mid-20th century, the instruction in specialized schools consisted primarily of the core curriculum or academic areas (Zebehazy & Whitten, 1998). Current…

Head Start began in 1965 as part of the War on Poverty. Today Head Start serves families with more complex and longer-lasting stresses than those faced by families in the 1960s. As Head Start builds on its historic accomplishments, the six programs profiled in this report offer creative and different approaches to strengthening Head Start's…

In October 1994 the President signed into law the "Improving America's Schools Act." Title I, the largest primary and secondary federal education program was reauthorized by this legislation, which, among other things rewrote the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The reauthorized law provides parents, advocates, and school…

This paper reports on the results of an initiative taken by Paterson Public Schools (New Jersey), an urban school district with approximately 24,000 students, to restructure its Title I elementary program. The effort involves engaging Title I and regular classroom teachers in a collaborative teaching model as an alternative to the traditional…

The Higher Order Thinking Skills Program (HOTS) is a computer-based program for teaching thinking skills developed by Stanley Pogrow at the University of Arizona. It is now used in over 800 U.S. schools. This study investigated the effects of the HOTS program versus the traditional Chapter 1 program on fourth and fifth grade students'…

A product evaluation of the Saginaw, Michigan School District's state-funded prekindergarten program for at-risk 4-year-olds (Michigan Early Childhood Education Preschool, or MECEP) was conducted in 1992-93. The Piaget-based program, which served approximately 279 children at 8 elementary schools, involves 7 component areas: cognitive,…

A product evaluation of the Saginaw, Michigan School District's state-funded prekindergarten program for at-risk 4-year-olds (Michigan Early Childhood Education Preschool, or MECEP) was conducted in 1993-94. The Piaget-based program, which served approximately 280 children at 9 elementary schools, involves 7 component areas: cognitive,…

A product evaluation of the Saginaw, Michigan School District's state-funded prekindergarten program for at-risk 4-year-olds (Michigan School Readiness Program, formerly Michigan Early Childhood Education Preschool, or MECEP) was conducted in 1994-95. The Piaget-based program, which served approximately 302 children at 9 elementary schools,…

In this statement, the Senior Social Scientist of the Rand Institute on Education and Training testified that improving the education of students from low-income families is a difficult challenge. Low-income students suffer more from the related influences of lower family income, family education level, and student achievement than more affluent…

This report evaluates how school districts across the United States have provided services to immigrant and refugee students under two federally-sponsored programs: the Transition Program for Refugee Children, and the Emergency Immigrant Education Act. The evaluation first describes the population served and the federal, state, and local…

Homeless families with children comprise the fastest growing segment of the United States homeless population. This study evaluated Year 1 of the Arizona Head Start for Homeless Children and Families Project, designed to meet educational and social needs of homeless children and families, and to assist Head Start agencies in developing effective…

Homeless families with children constitute the fastest growing segment of the United States homeless population. This study evaluated Year 2 of the Arizona Head Start for Homeless Children and Families Project, designed to meet educational and social needs of homeless children and families, and to assist Head Start agencies in developing effective…

This document provides an overview of the nature of nine strategies for providing instructional support services and the advantages, disadvantages, and role of Chapter 1, Pupils with Special Education Needs (PSEN), and Pupils with Compensatory Education Needs (PCEN) funds in each. The strategies are: (1) the pull-out approach; (2) the in-class…