This document contains recommendations for changes in the Texas system of educational finance to improve educational opportunity for Mexican Americans and blacks. The report examines alternative methods of finance, focusing on methods for improving the existing property tax system. The authors recommend that the State (1) supervise and control…

This collection of descriptions of research at the Center for Research on Effective Schooling for Disadvantaged Students opens with "Center Seeks To Improve Education for Disadvantaged Students," a discussion of the mission of the Center to improve schooling for the disadvantaged through new knowledge and practices produced by rigorous…

The Texas legislature passed Senate Bill 1 in 1990, which gave all school districts the option to offer prekindergarten programs for 3-year-old disadvantaged children. The financial feasibility of implementing such programs in the Texas public schools is analyzed in this report. A brief review of the economic impact of program implementation…

This study examined how five high-poverty Texas high schools, which had attained notable achievement levels on selected academic indicators, reached their present levels of performance. The schools shared several characteristics: most students were economically disadvantaged; the location was in a large urban district; there was no selective…

A survey of one national and three statewide studies (in Tennessee, Texas, and Alabama) of class-size achievement effects revealed no consistent pattern across various subjects and grade levels. However, smaller classes can improve student achievement, particularly in early grades and when teacher quality remains constant. (Contains 36 footnotes.)…

This paper examines the interactions between teachers and children based on a micro-ethnographic study of an early childhood classroom in which the teacher attempts to scaffold children's learning. The attempts at scaffolding are subverted by children as they resist the teacher's endeavors to modify their play. Teacher's attempts at scaffolding,…

In this compilation, five alumni of the Institute for Educational Leadership's Journalism Fellowship Program assess the impact of policies and conditions under the Reagan administration on state education in Washington, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Nebraska, and Texas. An introduction reviews the Reagan administration's education program and budget.…

The aims of the Teacher Corps are (1) to strengthen educational opportunities for children in areas with concentrations of low-income families; (2) to attract and prepare persons to become teachers in such areas through coordinated work-study experiences; and (3) to encourage colleges and universities, schools, and state departments of education…

Reported are the results of a 20-day highly concentrated program of teaching mathematics, language arts, and human relations to disadvantaged fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students in Houston, Texas. This follow-up study is based on a sample of 80 students from the original group of 200. Findings show that: (1) there were no significant…

This report presents an evaluation of a state implemented prekindergarten program for disadvantaged 4-year-old children in Texas in light of the program's impact on the largest urban school districts. The purpose of the program was to break the cycle of school failure and underachievement of disadvantaged and limited English proficient children.…

The objectives of the three-year Vocational Opportunities Integrated in Current Education (VOICE) project, carried on in the San Antonio Independent School District, were to develop and implement a career development and occupational awareness model program for elementary through senior high school students, to add dignity to the world of…

In 2003, the Lumina Foundation for Education launched a major initiative, "Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count," to increase student success at community colleges. The initiative focuses on colleges with high enrollments of low-income students and students of color. In the first round, 27 colleges in five states were selected.…

A third-party evaluation of the Texas coordinated vocational-academic education (CVAE) program was conducted in 1984-85 to determine the effectiveness of CVAE as a vocational program for meeting the needs of secondary students who are unsuccessful in traditional academic programs. A project advisory committee was established, a review of…

This exemplary program in health and nutrition is designed to: eliminate the barriers to learning imposed by poverty and cultural isolation; increase the student's ability to learn; improve pupil health and attitudes; and, make the schools responsive to the social, economic, and cultural needs of the community. The program features an extensive,…

Designed for junior or senior high school students with academic, socio-economic or other handicaps, the Coordinated Vocational-Academic Education (CVAE) Food Services course is also useful in other vocational education programs. Information in the curriculum guide is presented in three sections. Section one is an overview for teacher preparation;…