This report was produced in response to Rider 49 of the 2001 General Appropriations Act, which directed the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to study the effects of the funding formula on institutions of higher education with fewer than 10,000 students and determine the adequacy of the funding formula for these institutions in comparison…

The 2001 results of Arizonas Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) mark the third annual release of this important school accountability tool. The 2001 MAP results are slightly different from the results of previous years in that they show the percent of students who achieve One Years Growth (OYG) and present results in a more accessible format. The…

Why focus on art instead of on some other discipline to approach intercultural understanding? This paper argues that because art is about the spirit, the self, the soul, the things that people think are important, it should be the key choice. To lay the foundation for this argument, the paper addresses art as communication of core values and…

This Brief builds on the work of the National Association of State Boards of Education 1997 Study Group on State Assessment Systems by examining one of the state board actions that is most likely to capture the publics attention: setting cut scores on state assessments. This process involves a large measure of human judgment and politics and a…

The 2000-2001 school year brought changes in statewide testing in Montana and in assessment requirements tied to two federal programs, Title I and Special Education. This document provides guidance to districts about their responsibilities relative to the involvement of students served by these programs in statewide assessment, describing the ways…

This annual report details the accomplishments of the Alaska Head Start Program for fiscal year 1995. It begins with a description of the principal components of the Alaska Head Start Program, focusing on economic development; community development; parent and family involvement; education, training, and career development; and comprehensive…

The document begins with a Department of Juvenile Justice overview which lists program priorities and budget information. The department has three priority issues (public safety, partnerships, and accountability) which are covered in detail. Focal areas for addressing public safety include prevention efforts, prevention and diversion grant funds,…

A group of teacher education faculty, state certification officers, and National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) staff share what they have learned from State-NCATE joint review and accreditation visits. In the state-NCATE-based approach, the NCATE reviews the operation of the units, and the state reviews content preparation…

This document records the oral and written testimony of witnesses who testified at a Senate committee hearing concerning authorizing funds to states for worker reemployment and training programs. Witnesses included the following: Senators Claiborne Pell, Nancy Kassebaum, and Edward Kennedy; top officials from several major corporations; and…

This brief examines the disparity in resources available to children in different types of families and different parts of the country, using data from the 1997 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF), which collected data from about 44,000 households in 1997. Economic well-being among children varies substantially, according to the NSAF,…

This pamphlet describes 8 key elements established to guide the Texas Reading Initiative, whose goal is that all students will read on grade level or above by the end of grade 3. The elements discussed in the pamphlet are: (1) increase awareness of students' reading skill levels in kindergarten through grade 3; (2) promote reading programs as…

The document presents the results of state mandated assessment in the primary grades in the Wake County Public Schools, North Carolina. The North Carolina State Board of Education has mandated that school districts implement assessments at kindergarten, first, and second grades using state-developed materials, adaptations of those materials, or…

This report presents information about the state of higher education in Illinois. Higher education entered the year 2000 with a full agenda and ended it as the top-rated system of higher education in a new national report card, "Measuring Up 2000" (National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education). Illinois received "A's in…

This paper analyzes the approaches that states can take to address the needs of families facing the loss of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits due to time limits. Ways in which these approaches can be funded with state or federal welfare funds are discussed. The paper examines how states can use federal TANF or state…

This report compares students' scores on the 2000 Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) writing assessment with the writing scores of their counterparts in 1998 and 1999. In addition, the results of a writing study are discussed briefly. Delaware students in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10 took the 2000 DSTP writing assessment, responding to a text-based…