Most public K-12 schools in the United States enact a school improvement plan each year based upon the state testing results from the previous year. Despite the many frameworks, research, and recommendations, few scholars tackled what the plans contain and the results. Using a sequential explanatory mixed methods model, two stages examined school…

Research nationally demonstrates that children and youth experiencing foster care and/or homelessness achieve academic outcomes significantly below their peers due to trauma and loss, multiple changes in homes and schools, and emotional upheaval. When youth fail to graduate from high school, they are much more likely to live in poverty, require…

Supporting adult learners as they complete their postsecondary certificates and degrees is essential to meeting the state's educational attainment goals and the employment needs of students and Washington employers. Students come to college with skills and knowledge acquired through work, military, and other experiences. Awarding academic credit…

What would it take for all students completing high school in Washington to be ready for their next step? What common knowledge and skills should students have to be successful in an array of pathways leading to countless careers? For the past two years, the State Board of Education (SBE), with the support of a National Association of State Boards…

The apprenticeship movement is reshaping skills, policies, and programs in the United States at a critical moment in our country's history. This reader offers a chorus of voices emanating from different countries and populations, echoing commitment to bright, sustainable workforce futures through a well-crafted approach to this talent development…

This report presents Washington State's Master Plan for building a higher education system that addresses change in four fundamental elements: accessing education in urban areas; developing a new higher education funding process; evaluating institutional performance; and strengthening admissions standards. The Master Plan recommends the following:…

The state of Washington's workforce development system agenda focused in 2002 on these four goals: (1) closing a perceived job skills gap; (2) training incumbent and dislocated workers in order to prepare them for changes in the economy; (3) achieving wage progression for low income individuals; and (4) integrating workforce development programs…

The case studies of performance budgeting for higher education by Hawaii and Washington illustrate the issues and obstacles involved in new approaches to accountability. Issues covered: development of performance measures, aggregation and analysis, quantitative v qualitative measures, performance measures and responsibility accounting, and…

This document is the result of two years of intensive, dedicated work by a remarkable team of nearly two dozen researchers. It takes the first steps on a long overdue journey to fully understanding the realities and promise of ESL program service in community colleges across the nation. The report offers an in-depth look into several community…

Options for evaluating the performance of Washington state colleges based on student outcomes are discussed. Considered in "Question Number 4" on the agenda of the Washington State Higher Educaton Coordinating Board: how should the performance of higher education institutions be evaluated and by whom? Of concern is what student outcomes…

An evaluation study is being conducted to determine the impact of the Washington state legislature's 3-year investment of $2.55 million to enable schools to plan and implement a school-to-work transition program (STW). The key components of the evaluation consist of a written survey of the 33 STW coordinators in the state and case study site…

Between July 1, 1991 and June 30, 1993, Washington State's Displaced Homemaker Program (DHP) served a total of 55,363 individuals. The program's intensive instructional services component was completed by 2,496 eligible displaced homemakers, 84% of whom were aged 30-59. Of the DHP participants, 84% were white, 75% were separated or divorced, 79%…

An evaluation study was conducted to determine the impact of the Washington state legislature's 3-year investment of $2.55 million in a School-to-Work Transition Program (STW). The key components of the evaluation consist of a written survey of the 33 STW coordinators in the state, case study visits to 10 communities throughout the state engaged…

This second biennial outcome evaluation analyzes results of nine programs in Washington's work force training system that account for approximately 90 percent of public spending and recommends areas for improvement. Findings are from: program records on over 65,000 individuals who left one of the programs during the 1995-96 school year; mail…

School-to-work programs (STW) at 10 sites throughout Washington (Bethel, Camas, Central Valley, Columbia River, Goldendale, Grand Coulee Dam, Issaquah, Metlow Valley, Sumner, and Wenatchee) were examined through the following activities: reviewing background documents, interviewing key educators, observing academic and technical classes,…