As part of a system of early childhood career advancement in Florida, this document describes the early childhood education profession and presents--in both a written format and a CD-ROM--steps and guidelines for preparing a voluntary professional portfolio. The portfolio is highlighted as an opportunity to document one's educational and…

This study responds to the lack of research on Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA) compliance by examining a nationwide sample of the ICWA section within state Title IV-B Child and Family Services Plans (CFSP) and Annual Progress and Services Reports (APSR). These plans and reports address the administration of state child welfare systems. The…

In 1998, the Kentucky legislature made adjustments to the assessment and accountability system established by the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 to create a new system, the Commonwealth Accountability and Testing System (CATS). The Kentucky Core Content Tests (KCCT) are a component of CATS. KCCT assessments are given in grades 4, 5, 7, 8,…

When parents live apart, the combination of the mother's earnings (contributed directly to the household) and the father's earnings (paid through child support) help support children. The child support program is the first line of defense against poverty and public assistance costs. It is unique among other children's programs because the benefit…

Do teachers' salaries reflect their ability to teach effectively? This is an important question given that teacher salaries account for approximately 37 percent of total education expenditures across the United States. Furthermore, the objectives of the "No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)" for increased student achievement and the presence…

This report examines how state policymakers designed their accountability systems to meet the NCLB Title I requirements and the implications of its provisions for schools with large numbers of low-income and minority students. The authors conducted their study in six states--Arizona, California, Illinois, New York, Virginia, and Georgia--which are…

This document comments on the future of educational testing in the United States and the plans of the Bush administration for increased use of testing for educational accountability. The "achievement gap" does not appear to be closing. One of the keys to closing the gap is having the data to understand it so that teachers can use test…

Noting that problems of high rates of poverty, hunger, and food insecurity will persist unless steps are taken to reduce them, this report of the Food Research and Action Center details food and nutrition programs throughout the country. The report, designed for use by federal government, states, localities, advocates, religious organizations,…

A number of trends are pushing states and communities to bring together traditionally separate services and programs and to create more integrated and responsive initiatives for young children and their families. Program directors and policymakers are devising new strategies for coordinating the funding for these initiatives. This strategy brief…

When the drive to develop and administer tests comes from a public call for accountability in a profession, from the government's response to this call, or from politicians attempting to identify a hot issue, it may be said that the test must first have political validity in order to be implemented. Only after this political validity has been…

This document describes the North Carolina Open-Ended Assessment for grades 4 and 8 and presents results for the 2000-2001 administration. The assessment emphasizes higher level thinking skills and requires students to apply or demonstrate skills and knowledge beyond the recall level on challenging subject matter. The open-ended assessments were…

This matrix provides information on eight early childhood programs offered in Illinois. Presented in grid form, the information can be compared across programs. The programs described are: (1) Head Start and Early Head Start; (2) Illinois Department of Children and Family Services child care; (3) Illinois Department of Human Services child care;…

This document contains a matrix offering a side-by-side comparison of almost 40 criteria among 7 sets of early childhood program standards. The standards are: (1) Head Start Program Performance Standards; (2) Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Child Care Licensing Standards; (3) Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) Center…

Noting that problems of high rates of poverty, hunger, and food insecurity will persist unless steps are taken to reduce them, this report of the Food Research and Action Center details food and nutrition programs throughout the country. The report, designed for use by the federal government, states, localities, advocates, religious organizations,…

This document is designed to show the connection between the required state-written curriculum (courses of study) and the state-tested curriculum (the Alabama High School Graduation Examination and the Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition [Stanford 9]) in Science. The document illustrates that courses of study content standards embody both…