By virtue of a Title III Elementary and Secondary Education Act grant, the feasibility of consolidating 7 Illinois high schools was studied. Areas of consideration were geographic characteristics, high school and elementary curriculum, and cost considerations relative to high school and elementary school buildings, curriculum, transportation,…

This paper reports the results of a comprehensive curriculum evaluation of an academy founded to assist black drop-outs. Designed to determine the effects of the educational program on the student body and to lay bare the major constructs in the instructional and curriculum designs, the study employed a modified Shufflebeam curriculum evaluation…

Data from the Miskimins Self-Goal-Other Discrepancy Scale and the Personal Data Questionnaire, completed by business students in eight suburban Cook County, Illinois, high schools indicated that male and non-White respondents had weaker self-concepts than female and White respondents. As self-concept influences learning and behavior, further…

Eight articles in this theme issue deal with the nationwide implementation of agricultural literacy programs--discovering how to do it. Discussed are experiences in planning and conducting agricultural literacy programs at state and local levels. (JOW)

Analyzes efforts by school districts reorganizing science curricula in Illinois. Describes state goals for Illinois: Knowledge and Vocabulary; Science-Technology-Society; Scientific Enterprise; and Science Process. Discusses how school districts emphasize the 4 state goals for grades 3, 6, 8, and 11. (YP)

This examination of the New American Schools Development Corporation initiative in Bensenville (Illinois) details the controversy over the reform effort and argues that factors such as school governance, local control, and school finance played major roles in determining program outcomes. The importance of political influences in reform efforts is…

In this action research report 4 teachers and 1 teacher educator use the Japanese lesson study model of professional development for 15 months in rural Carlinville, Illinois. In March 2001, 4 teachers identified a goal to improve their students' understanding of two step word problems in 2nd grade elementary mathematics. Teachers completed three…

This document, which was developed with input from 14 Illinois middle schools, is a comprehensive guide to planning and implementing career development activities in middle schools. The following are among the topics discussed: (1) background information (the rationale for and importance of career development; young adolescents' interests and…

This report identifies aspects of Illinois' regionalization plan and includes 11 major topics: (1) education for employment policy; (2) definition of schooling; (3) articulation, coordination, cooperation; (4) sharing resources; (5) student services and access; (6) teacher involvement and inservice education; (7) labor market information,…

Online learning is growing rapidly across the United States within all levels of education, as more and more students and educators become familiar with the benefits of learning unconstrained by time and place. Across most states and all grade levels, students are finding increased opportunity, flexibility, and convenience through online learning.…

Illinois received one of six 2-year National Institute for Literacy grants to create statewide interagency staff development systems for literacy. After a staff development plan has been developed/implemented, a needs assessment process is developed that entails the following five steps: determine indicators of program quality and develop…

The second phase of a two-phase study evaluated (through 24 care studies in California, Missouri, Illinois, and New York) the feasibility of implementing an evaluation model of workplace-based retraining programs developed during the first phase of the project in California. The feasibility study addressed two components of an evaluation system:…

This tech prep planning handbook is based on the research conducted at the Office of Community College Research and Leadership, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The study involved information gathering procedures at each of the 17 tech prep pilot sites about their planning activities. Seven sections are included: (1) tech prep in…

A program was developed for improving the spelling of high frequency words in daily writing across the curriculum through the use of multiple intelligences. The targeted population consisted of second and third grade students in a middle class community in central Illinois. The problem was documented by parent surveys; teacher interviews,…