SUPERIOR STUDENTS IN RURAL HIGH SCHOOLS WERE GIVEN PROGRAMED INSTRUCTION IN SELECTED SUBJECT AREAS TO DETERMINE IF A NONDIRECTIVE METHOD OF DIFFUSING AN INNOVATION, LIKE PROGRAMED INSTRUCTION, WAS APPROPRIATE FOR DISSEMINATION IN A RURAL ENVIRONMENT. THE EFFECTS OF THE COOPERATIVE DEMONSTRATION PROJECT ON STUDENTS, PARENTS, TEACHERS, AND HIGH…

Describes Lehigh Valley 2000, a collaborative approach to enhance education and learning underway in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, where a business-education partnership is creating fertile ground for educational innovations and system reform. Action committees that involve more than 200 people address recommendations for educational change.…

This practicum report describes in detail the efforts of a High School Task Force made up of 21 teachers to establish and operate a model high school as part of a new 4-4-4 educational plan for the Erie, Pennsylvania, schools. The Strong Vincent Comprehensive High School Renewal Site utilized curriculum revision, quarter course offerings, and…

This administrator's guide is designed to provide a systematic and objective means of evaluating an ongoing reading program. The procedures outlined recognize the important role of the administrator as the change-agent who initiates, encourages, supports, observes, and evaluates programs. The systems approach simplifies the Generic Planning…

Process and product evidence presented in the paper indicate that the competency-based, mastery learning inservice workshop can be an effective diffusion strategy for an educational innovation. The innovation under study was a competency-based, mastery learning, individualized instruction project; the diffusion methods used were the same as the…

The debate over the condition of American public education has spanned the last decade. Some argue that public education is "bad" and needs a complete overhaul, and others assert that public education is "good" but needs to be improved. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the impact of the outcomes-based…

A charter school is an autonomous educational entity operating under a contract negotiated between the organizers who manage the school (teachers, parents, or others from the public or private sector) and the sponsors who oversee the provisions of the charter (local school boards, state education boards, or some other public authority). The…

This report outlines emerging paradigms of service for mentally retarded adults emerging from a nationwide search for innovative programs and practices. It was prompted by the consistent finding of a Pennsylvania longitudinal study that mentally retarded school completers tend to live indefinitely with parents or guardians. The study found the…

THE ASSOCIATION OF DEPARTMENTS OF ENGLISH COLLECTED INFORMATION FROM DIRECTORS OF FRESHMAN ENGLISH FOR A REPORT ON COLLEGE PROGRAMS IN FRESHMAN COMPOSITION. THE FIRST SECTION OF THE REPORT, A DISCUSSION OF TRENDS IN FRESHMAN COMPOSITION, INDICATES THAT LINGUISTICS AND THE STUDY OF LANGUAGE HAVE NOT BECOME A PART OF THE FRESHMAN ENGLISH CURRICULUM.…

THE OAKLEAF PROJECT WAS A COOPERATIVE STUDY OF THE PROBLEMS INVOLVED IN MAKING PROVISION FOR INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF REGULAR SCHOOL OPERATIONS. THE OAKLEAF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN SUBURBAN PITTSBURGH WAS USED AS A LABORATORY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND TRIAL OF A PROGRAM FOR INDIVIDUALLY PRESCRIBED INSTRUCTION (IPI). THE IPI…

Describes study of rural or small town community development programs funded by the Small Town Emphasis Program. Outlines program factors including competition, innovation, needs assessment, low income involvement, networks, technical assistance, efficiency, strategy, and timing. Provides examples of six programs and recommends future development…

This case study examines the development and problems of the Mon-Yough Community Action Committee, Inc. (MYCAC), one of the local anti-poverty agencies in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The agency's major effort is to overcome problems created by the decline of the local steel industry by supporting existing welfare agencies, and through such…

This book focuses on the process of implementing an alternative school within a public urban system. To identify and illustrate the problems inherent in organizing and operating an alternative school the West Philadelphia Community Free School was taken as a case study. Observations and analysis are here offered on two different levels: (1)…

Three characteristics of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) make it suitable for individualizing instruction: adaptive response by the student, continual evaluation of the student's responses, and adaptability of instruction to the individual's responses and his achievement levels. CAI systems are being used for laboratory computing, record…

Alternative education programs for disruptive and at-risk students in Pennsylvania were studied to determine the characteristics that make such programs successful. This report presents the results of the analysis and lists model programs and other operating programs in Pennsylvania. Suspension and expulsion are stopgap solutions that relieve the…