This manual is designed to assist educators in using the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) Alternate Assessment, an assessment intended to allow students with the most significant disabilities to participate in MCAS. The manual provides guidelines, materials, and procedures necessary for the preparation of student portfolios for…

The relationship between higher education and government has been described as an ongoing series of social contracts, the expectation that higher education should provide a return to society for the public investment given. This study focused on whether state planners for higher education in five states are expecting institutions to demonstrate…

The Steering Committee of the Mississippi Leadership Summit on Higher Education anticipates a future in which Mississippi is regarded as a state of promise and opportunity. This report discusses the priorities and initiatives of a shared framework for educational, economic, and social progress. All of Mississippi's children and their families, as…

An evaluation was conducted of student use of the PLATO computer assisted instruction system in the Highland Park Independent School District, Amarillo, Texas, a school district that has one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school. The evaluation was based on telephone interviews with the Assistant Superintendent, three written…

In 1996, a subcommittee of the State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards commissioned a study of the use of performance-based assessments in large-scale accountability systems. The idea was to look into current state assessment work on performance-based assessments to see what has been learned, but not widely reported, by those who…

This study, one of a series designed to answer practical questions about performance based assessment, examined the comparability of school scores on short, nonparallel test forms. The data were obtained from mathematics tests with both multiple choice (MC) and performance assessment (PA) items. The tests were administered in a statewide testing…

School improvement is a continuous, systematic process to enhance student learning, improve educational opportunities, and increase the effectiveness of the educational programs and services provided to students. The Missouri School Improvement Program (MSIP) is an ongoing process that includes assessing the strengths and needed improvements in…

This report from a 1996 Child Care Action Campaign national audioconference concerns approaches taken by Wisconsin and Minnesota in designing and implementing federally funded child care subsidy systems. Wisconsin Works phases out Aid to Families with Dependent Children cash assistance and redirects funds into job training, child care, and health…

An accountability system is proposed for the education system in Washington. Reform efforts in Washington have been designed to create a school-centered system in which state standards motivate teachers, parents, and principals to search for more effective ways to help students learn. Drawing on the experience of other states, recommendations are…

In 1990, in response to court orders, Kentucky took the unprecedented step of throwing out the state's entire public educational system. Using outside consultants, they fashioned a model for education reform that many experts have hailed as the best in the United States. The Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) has become a beacon of hope for a…

The issue of high standards and high expectations for public school students has even reached the kindergarten level of instruction. The paper suggests that the informal readiness approach can be used with a more formal curriculum in order to prepare students for state mandated testing to ensure readiness for first grade. Many educators believe…

This study examined the extent to which students with disabilities are included in accountability systems in states in which there are high stakes for educational systems. Conducted through a World Wide Web search of states' education Web sites and direct links to their Web sites, the study examined the indicators on which states collect…

A study examined state Individualized Education Program (IEP) forms to determine the extent to which they include documentation of standards and assessments. All 50 states were asked to send their IEP Forms and to indicate whether they were required, recommended, or simply sample forms. Out of the 41 states with IEP forms, only 5 states…

"Michigan's State Technology Plan (1998)" includes 21 Recommendations and 14 Belief Statements that focus on incorporating technology into the curriculum, training teachers and other staff members, funding educational technology programs, and establishing technical standards and a telecommunications infrastructure on which educators can…

Arizona has nearly 25 percent of the charter schools in the nation. These Arizona schools present something new: the first system approaching comprehensive school choice in the real world. This edited volume assembles the perspectives of social scientists and education practitioners and gives the first published account of the Arizona charter…