Background/Context: Recent trends suggest that middle-class parents may be a growing constituency in urban public schools and districts. Within the burgeoning literature on the middle class in urban public schools, most scholars have focused on parents' goals and orientations and/or the consequences of parental involvement in classroom and school…

The educational achievement and attainment of young people in the United States has been a long-standing issue of concern. While analyses of long-term trend data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show that students in the United States have made gains in reading and mathematics over the past few decades, a sizeable…

The process used by community-college leaders in making decisions is very important, given the complexity and significance of their decisions to institutional quality and effectiveness. This article explores the degree to which leaders utilize research in their decision-making, the sources and usefulness of the research, and how the base of…

The California Statewide Longitudinal Study provided information on community college students' experiences and needs which is of value for colleges in determining strategies and priorities. While, however, this and similar studies address the needs of the learners and the colleges, the impressions and concerns of one key client, the prospective…

An evaluation was made of the occupational education program at California community colleges. Three areas were studied: strengths, improvement needs, and research priorities. Evaluations, combining college self-appraisals with validations of the self-appraisals by visiting COPES teams, were conducted over a three-month period. Team ratings…

One of a series of papers resulting from a Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) project, this working paper describes how a state agency data system can be used and supplemented to produce the kinds of data that are needed for effective community college planning and evaluation. First, general information is presented on…

During the hearings of the Subcommittee on Migratory Labor, various statements prepared for the Subcommittee on Monopoly of the Senate Select Committee on Small Business hearing on the role of giant corporations in the American and world economies were included. This appendix includes some of those statements. The statements given cover: (1)…

This seven-part report presents a recommended plan for state-wide evaluation of the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) program in the California Community College System. Chapter I describes the procedures used by Educational Evaluation Associates in devising the plan, discusses the role played by evaluation study groups,…

Discussion of public libraries' information and referral services for culturally diverse communities focuses on a study conducted in southern California that examined the information seeking behavior of ethnolinguistic gatekeepers in minority communities. Topics addressed include information and referral models; information sources; the perception…

This paper describes a collaborative effort aimed at province-wide dissemination and implementation of pivotal response treatment (PRT) for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Nova Scotia, Canada. Three critical components of the associated training model are described: (1) direct training of treatment teams (parents, one-to-one…

The enclosed English as a Second Language (ESL) Task Force Report represents a response to questions raised by some educators and legislators about ESL programs, practices, and support services across the three California postsecondary systems: the California Community Colleges (CCCs), the California State Universities (CSUs), and the University…

An overview is provided of progress in the development of a management information system for the California community colleges. First, background is presented on the current Uniform Statewide Reporting System (USRS), and problems with the system are identified and discussed (i.e., lack of student outcome information, unintegrated data, lack of…

This review paper discusses the implications of the California Statewide Longitudinal Study (SLS) of community college students for 2-year vocational education. After introductory material examining problems in vocational student follow-up, the paper presents relevant findings from the SLS, discusses their significance for vocational education,…

The overall purpose of this study was to develop a system for predicting current instructional costs of vocational education programs at the community college level in California. Data gathered by analyzing the instructional expenditures of 19 community colleges for the fiscal year 1969 showed that: (1) Neither of two suggested mathematical…

In light of growing concern for the measurement of educational effectiveness, this paper advocates institutional research at the community college level in California's community colleges to answer crucial questions concerning students, programs, and communities and urges trustees and administrators to use research results to inform decision…