Used data from a 50-state survey of policies, case studies, the 1993-94 Schools and Staffing Survey, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress to examine the ways in which teacher qualifications and other school inputs are related to student achievement across states. Findings suggest that policy investments in teacher quality may be…

The development of a core curriculum for secondary horticulture that New Hampshire teachers would actually use required grass-roots teacher input, independent and team writing, and feedback from employers and postsecondary instructors who would ultimately be affected by the new curriculum. (SK)

Studied the current state of school superintendent evaluation practices across the United States using state policy guides and materials. Findings show that 8 of 50 states do not have requirements or guidelines for superintendent evaluation and other states do not meet all the essential criteria for quality personnel evaluation. (SLD)

Discusses efforts by South Dakota, Oregon, Massachusetts, Kentucky, and Virginia to assess students using the Internet and computers. (PKP)

Describes the University of California's Small Farms Program, which aims to support the sustainability of small farms by providing small-scale farmers with state-of-the-art information, research, support networks, and technical assistance in technology adoption and decision making. Profiles four successful small farms that grow strawberries,…

Discusses the history of backup reference service in the state of New Jersey including the transition from regional backup service; describes the current statewide service; and considers future service possibilities in light of recent trends, including a decrease in the number of reference questions being received in libraries. (LRW)

This article describes the North Carolina Environmental Education (EE) Certification Program, which was established in 1997, and examines the certification experiences of the kindergarten through 12th grade teachers who have completed the program. Because this program is central to describing and assessing the status of K-12 environmental…

In an effort to assist family and consumer sciences teachers with the huge task of rewriting local curriculum to meet new state and national standards, a statewide collaborative effort was implemented in Washington. Teachers worked in groups around the state to create curriculum for frequently taught courses. While the groups worked together to…

The 1990s ushered in a new age in state financial support for college students, with the rise of broad-based merit scholarships. Starting in the South and spreading from there, the premise of the "new generation" of programs was simple--states should be in the business of rewarding student performance, retaining the state's "best…

This document presents a speech delivered by Chancellor Bill Goertz at the meeting of the State Board of Higher Education last November 19, 2009. In his speech, Chancellor Goertz reports that: (1) according to a Delta Cost Project report, North Dakota ranked among the top five states in regard to market-based productivity; (2) the Midwest Higher…

This issue of "Legislative Review" takes a look at the news in higher education from February 2 to 6, 2009. This Legislative Review reports that: (1) HB 1447, a bill giving the Legislature authority to set tuition and fee rates, was heard in the House Education Committee Wednesday, February 4; (2) the Senate Finance and Taxation…

The purpose of this mixed-method descriptive case study is to investigate the role technical assistance providers within the context of one state's large-scale literacy grant program. This study provides an in-depth examination of one state's technical assistance providers known as Reading First Facilitators (RFF) through the study of a group of…

School districts and states have begun to receive education funds doled out from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or ARRA, and many have a simple plan for the money--prevent teacher layoffs and restore current programs that were heading for the chopping block. This plan aligns with the legislation's intent to address the acute financial…

This study inventoried state policies and regulations on and financial support for noncredit occupational programming offered by community colleges. Information collected from state- and community college-level administrators and Web-based searches is organized by a range of issues related to noncredit occupational programming and funding, such as…

Since the early 1990s, state governments have distributed billions of dollars in financial aid through merit-based college scholarships, most of which have no means tests. The model for most of these programs is Georgia's Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally (HOPE) scholarship. Given the high correlation between precollege academic achievement…