In the USA, many of the recent education reforms have been implemented in response to calls from neo-liberal and conservative policy makers to improve education efficiency and reduce public expenditures within an increasingly globalized economy. Consequently, local, state, and federal education policies increasingly employ curricular standards and…

This paper discusses a framework for education policy, from early childhood through post-secondary education, along with major reform ideas consistent with that framework. We present evidence showing that education is critical to broad-based economic growth. Investments in education yield large returns to both society and the individual.…

Steven Barnett and Clive Belfield examine the effects of preschool education on social mobility in the United States. They note that under current policy three- and four-year-old children from economically and educationally disadvantaged families have higher preschool attendance rates than other children. But current programs fail to enroll even…

The Community Achievement Project in the Schools (CAPS) is a public-private partnership between the United Way of New York City and the New York City Board of Education. As part of a dropout prevention initiative, CAPS is designed to integrate the services of community-based organizations and schools. The Teachers College of Columbia University…

This executive summary presents evaluation findings and conclusions from a 4-year study of a demonstration project focusing on a school-based and school-linked interprofessional case management approach to dropout prevention. The project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, was administered by the Center for the Study and Teaching of…

The schoolwide projects conducted by two Muscogee County (Georgia) elementary schools under Chapter 1 are described. The Muscogee County School District is the public school system for Columbus, the state's second largest city. The student body of approximately 31,000 is 54.2 percent Black, with 2.9 percent Hispanic, and only a small number of…

The Independent Review Panel of the National Assessment of Chapter 1 recommends fundamental changes to the program, while endorsing its continuing vital role in meeting the special educational needs of poor and disadvantaged students. The program's focus on low-level basic skills, funding systems that discourage highest-level performance, money…

Trends in poverty and income inequality and potential solutions for such social problems are discussed. The complicated attitudes of the general public toward public policy and social problems are reviewed, with an emphasis on the persistence and intergenerational transmission of poverty, the extent of welfare dependence, and the emergence of an…

The Neglected or Delinquent Program (N or D) of the Columbus (Ohio) Public Schools is designed to provide classrooms and tutorial services in language development for students served in facilities eligible for Chapter 1 aid for the neglected or delinquent. In the 1990-91 school year, one full-time N or D teacher and 12 part-time tutors served 153…

Education professionals have long known that family background is a stronger predictor of academic success than are school or teacher characteristics. The past 30 years have seen a series of drastic alterations in patterns of family living in the United States, and these changes mean that a substantial number of youngsters are being born or are…

This document summarizes the following eight-component framework of the Commission on Chapter 1 for restructuring the Chapter 1 program: (1) have states set clear, high standards for all students; (2) devise new systems for schools to assess progress toward standards; (3) inform parents about how well their children are progressing toward…

The Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development undertook a 2-year project to assess non-school programs offered by various community-based youth organizations. This project included focus group interviews with youth about their current activities and preferences for after-school activities. Sixteen focus groups were conducted in the metropolitan…

This report describes local procedures for implementing Chapter 1 requirements for selecting limited English-proficient (LEP) students for Chapter 1 programs, and describes services for LEP students through Chapter 1 and language programs. Case studies of 14 school districts in 6 states were conducted to help the Department of Education formulate…

The Southwest Regional Laboratory (SWRL) is adapting Success for All, a prominent early-elementary school program for at-risk minority youths, for use with disadvantaged limited English proficient students whose primary language is Spanish. The Johns Hopkins University Center for Research on Effective Schooling for Disadvantaged Students is…

This volume presents methods and first-year findings from the urban and suburban/rural studies of Special Strategies for Educating Disadvantaged Children, a 3-year project that is collecting case study data on 10 different strategies identified as holding promise for educating this group of children. Data collected by Special Strategies involve…