In the 1996 and 1997 Massachusetts legislative sessions, several of Boston's key business leaders became active child advocates in alliance with more traditional advocates and other civic leaders, convincing public policymakers to create and fund several initiatives benefiting children. This working paper presents reflections on successful…

Massachusetts is a newcomer to teacher testing, and prospective teachers in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts were not tested until April 1998. The unintended consequences of the state's teacher testing policy are examined through a qualitative case study and a document review of media reports, higher education institution reports, in-house…

In this article, I address the present-day political and pedagogical implications of the imposition of one year of English only immersion on limited English proficient (LEP) students. The article also presents a case study of an inner-city community in Massachusetts during the early years -- 1968-1974 -- of transition from English only to…

Two position papers for the Alden Seminar on Higher Education and an overview of the January 1982 Alden Seminar meeting are presented. The Alden Seminars, which are attended by officers of business and industry and colleges and universities in Massachusetts, provide a forum for the discussion of the current situation in higher education, with…

New economic strategies used by states are described, and case studies of the recent innovations in economic development policies of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Michigan are presented. A number of programs in other states are briefly reviewed, and various models of state intervention are evaluated, along with the principles that underlie…

Guided by a vision of an ideal educational system that is dedicated to the cultivation of a democratic citizenry, this monograph explores a number of questions about the growth and recent transformation of American junior colleges from liberal arts transfer institutions to providers of terminal vocational training. Chapter 1 examines the role of…

Student loan counseling and debt management are discussed in three papers, six commentaries, and a panel discussion from a College Scholarship Service colloquium. In "Fulfilling the Institution's Responsibilities to Student Borrowers," Theodore J. Marchese discusses a shift in student financial aid marked by the ascendency of loans…