In fall 1987, a study was conducted by the Learning Assessment Retention Consortium (LARC) to closely inspect the reading courses and programs currently offered in the California community colleges. All 106 community colleges in the state were surveyed regarding testing instruments used, the number and level of reading courses offered, entry and…

California's Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) program provides job services, as well as training, education, and support services to Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients to help them attain unsubsidized employment. The GAIN program includes an initial appraisal of participants' basic reading, mathematics, and functional…

This volume surveys major sources of published data on the academic performance of California public secondary school students and compares current performance levels to those attained in the State in the recent past, as well as to national trends. Chapter I is an introduction. Chapter II, "General Measures of Student Preparation,"…

A study examined the degree to which children with limited English proficiency can benefit from English instruction in phonemic awareness and phoneme-grapheme correspondence. Subjects were 27 kindergarten children in a suburban northern California school--16 spoke Hmong as their primary language and the rest were monolingual English speakers. The…

Homeless individuals are eligible for adult education services, such as literacy training and basic skills remediation, under the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. In California, 7 agencies in 1989 and 13 in 1990 were selected as service providers to serve 100 homeless adults each per project year. Each funded agency assessed…

In the fall of 1971, a Spanish immersion program was initiated in kindergarten at the Linwood Howe Elementary School in Culver City, California. The original (pilot) group was in grade 2 at the time of this study, which focused on the pilot group in grade 2 and the follow-up group at grade 1. The major questions examined were: (1) Are the students…

Discusses three models of parent involvement (family impact, school impact, and cooperative systems) and analyzes the parental mentorship process surrounding 18 Mexican American children in a third grade classroom. (SM)

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Education Programs Receive Little Funding: Striving Readers One of Only a Handful of Programs to Receive Small…

This study investigated the benefits of using a Web-based reading curriculum program featuring music and video, on struggling readers' performance and motivation. A sample of 36 third grade students from low socioeconomic backgrounds was randomly assigned to receive Web-based or traditional reading instruction. Analyses of performance indicated…

A COMPENSATORY EDUCATION PROGRAM TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS WAS INITIATED IN 27 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. DAILY SESSIONS OF 45 TO 50 MINUTES WERE SCHEDULED FOR 60 PUPILS IN GROUPS OF 12. DURING THE 1964-65 SCHOOL YEAR PRIORITY WAS GIVEN TO THE NEEDS OF THIRD-GRADE STUDENTS. BEFORE ASSIGNMENT TO THE COMPENSATORY CLASSES, EACH CHILD WAS TESTED TO…

The Reach System is a set of direct instruction (DI) programs designed to bring students who are performing as low as grade 1 level in language arts to performing at grade 8 level within 2 years of instruction delivered 3 hours per day. It involves a comprehensive system of professional development, curriculum, and instruction within the larger DI…

These joint statements by the Academic Senates of the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California address the concern that students are underprepared for college-level work. First, "Statement on Competencies in English and Mathematics Expected of Entering Freshmen," which was prepared…

THIS EXPERIMENT WITH 100 STUDENT VOLUNTEERS WAS CONDUCTED WITHIN THE REGULAR FRESHMAN ENGLISH PROGRAM AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY BY A GROUP OF TEACHERS WHO WERE THEMSELVES WRITERS, AND BY AN EQUAL NUMBER OF GRADUATE STUDENTS. THE AIMS OF THE EXPERIMENT WERE (1) TO TEACH WRITING, NOT THROUGH RHETORICAL TECHNIQUES, BUT THROUGH HELPING THE STUDENT…

Even after acting on the best available information to make a grantmaking decision, a grantmaker should seek to learn from grantees, remain adaptable to new ideas and open to unexpected learning, and willing to admit when grants do not turn out as expected. To this end, Grantmakers for Education's Principles for Effective Education Grantmaking…

In the context of a regular academic program, the Child Development Project (CDP) helps teachers and parents promote characteristics such as helpfulness and responsibility in children in kindergarten through sixth grade. The CDP program contains five major elements: (1) cooperative activities; (2) helping activities; (3) the highlighting of…