"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Beyond the Gap: What Educators and Researchers Are Learning from High-Achieving African American and Latino Students (Michael Sadowski); (2) Aiming for AYP:…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Must be in the Front Row!: High Schools, Graduation Rates Receive New Attention from Policy Community and World of…

Describes a long-term, Arizona field project that allows students to collect and analyze regional economic data and to apply theoretical techniques and applications. Discusses the history and evolution of the project that generally involves a series of economic base surveys and reports on small rural communities. (MJP)

Freshman satisfaction survey, enrollment, and academic achievement data were used by one college to develop a database providing a comprehensive set of outcome indicators and a model for the freshman experience, including institution-specific models of freshman satisfaction and retention. A longitudinal database is under construction. (Author/MSE)

Provides a concise overview of the role of the federal government in educational statistics and research. Although the scale and methodologies of these projects have increased in size and complexity, federal educational statistical research has never become a significant force in educational reform. (MJP)

Analyzes interview data collected from English-as-a-Second-Language students regarding their writing experience in English for academic purposes (EAP) and other courses. Characterizes students' reactions to three types of writing contexts and argues that EAP courses requiring students to write from general knowledge or personal experience limit…

Discusses methodological issues in cross-cultural studies of diverse communities, including language problems, data collection and analysis, sample size, and dissemination of findings. A study of the information-seeking behavior of ethnolinguistic gatekeepers in several communities in California is described. Suggestions are given for public…

This instructional booklet presents an overview of the Developmental Education Student Retention Tracking System (DESRTS), developed by the South Carolina State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education to make information available on the retention and graduation of developmental students in the state's technical colleges. Following an…

The guide is based on project reports by the San Francisco Department of Public Health to improve and monitor perinatal health and children's health. These reports demonstrated the potential of information to help community advocacy groups, service providers, and program planners identify priorities for policy decisions and resource allocation.…

This report presents the latest available racial and ethnic data concerning high school completion rates, college participation rates, college enrollments, and degree completions. It also presents projections on the numbers of high school graduates, from a study conducted by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education and the College…

This report summarizes an assessment effort that began in the summer of 1990 and completed its first year in the summer of 1991. It is the initial stage of a longitudinal study that focuses on the academic achievement and attitudes of students in the St. Louis (Missouri) metropolitan court-ordered desegregation program administered by the…

Student educational outcomes and the quality of instruction are now being monitored by several programs at Worthington Community College (WCC) in southwest Minnesota. WCC, one of the 20 community colleges in the Minnesota Community College system, currently serves 875 students, and has been intensifying its efforts to serve the whole service area…

This second-year project report describes the current status and future planned development of the Florida Information Resource Network (FIRN), an evolving statewide system which will make possible the electronic movement of educational data between Florida's public schools, school districts, colleges, universities, the Department of Education…

Designed for the community college practitioner who may be considering initiating a student tracking system, this report draws upon selected writings and other sources to examine the potential role of student tracking systems in student outcomes research. The report examines the limited scope of community college longitudinal studies conducted to…

The Occupational Information System (OIS) is a formal standardized system for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of occupational information that has been mandated by several major pieces of educational legislation. Designed to aid a wide audience--including direct participants in the labor market, persons whose job it is to help others…