The Toyota Families in Schools (TFS) Program is a new family literacy initiative that was developed by the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) with support from the Toyota Motor Corporation. TFS is based on a previous NCFL model calling for providing literacy activities to preschoolers and parents from low-income families. NCFL wanted to…

This study evaluates two databases, "Historical Abstracts" and REESWeb, to determine their effectiveness in supporting academic social science research. While many performance evaluations gather quantitative data from isolated query and response transactions, this study is a qualitative evaluation of the databases in the context of…

This book analyzes how welfare reform can improve the lives of children, based on a study of successful programs that provide services to needy children and their families. The study looked at programs that operated in conjunction with the welfare department before the enactment of the Family Support Act and that operated successfully. Chapter 1…

Four papers follow and document the progress of the Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing in understanding questions related to alternative assessment based on case studies in three elementary schools. The research questions include consideration of the logistical constraints that must be respected in developing…

This book examines embedded support in course material. The focus is on self-study and associated concepts such as independent learning, distance education, and open education, and the general context is adult and higher education. The seven chapters cover: (1) general introductory material, including a description of the future, distance…

This paper studies pretest-to-posttest, posttest-to-sustained effect, and pretest-to-sustained effect changes for 3,775 students in grades 2 through 8 who participated in Chapter 1 reading/mathematics programs in Columbus (Ohio) Public Schools during the 1989-90 school year. Data for 16 analysis groups were collected in spring of 1989, 1990, and…

This report summarizes the progress made between 1980 and 1981 in the implementation of a plan to gather a variety of information about community college transfer students in California. After background on the adoption of the plan is provided, its underlying assumptions and objectives are outlined. Next, progress made in ascertaining the number…

This report summarizes findings of an evaluation of Head Start health services. Chapter one presents an overview of the background of the evaluation project. Chapter two highlights findings for the major evaluation questions. These questions focus specifically on children's health status prior to entry into Head Start, health services subsequently…

Review of the methods for estimating future employment opportunities shows that there is an ongoing system, involving the Department of Labor and state employment agencies, for making projections for the United States as a whole and for states and major metropolitan areas. This system combines national research on economic growth, technological…

A study examined the feasibility of performing a national cost-benefit analysis of secondary, postsecondary, and adult vocational education. The study involved three components: a survey of the state of the art of utilizing cost-benefit methodologies to evaluate the returns on investments in vocational education; an overview of the potential…

The Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act of 1977 (YEDPA) authorized a range of research, evaluation, and demonstration activities to increase understanding of the employment problems of youth and to help determine the most effective policies and programs to address these problems. A major knowledge development objective under YEDPA was…

This is the second report concerning how Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) sponsors implemented two programs under the Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act (YEDPA), specifically the Youth Community Conservation Improvement Projects (YCCIP) and Youth Employment and Training Program (YETP). The report is based on studies by…

Five minority alternative drug abuse prevention programs (three Indian and two Hispanic) in New Mexico were evaluated to determine which elements were successful or unsuccessful in addressing the needs of Indian and Hispanic youth regarding the relationship of substance use and abuse, cultural differences, and self-concept. The programs were…

This volume presents a summary of the methods, findings and recommendations for federal policy of the National Day Care Study (NDCS), a 4-year study of the effects of regulatable day care center characteristics on the quality and cost of day care for preschoolers. Chapter I describes current day care services and the history of federal involvement…

This report presents the findings from the 2004 formative evaluation of the Youth Employment Strategy (YES). It is based on the fieldwork and analysis that was conducted by Consulting and Audit Canada between September 2004 and December 2004. The report is organized in five sections: Section 1 provides background on the YES and on the evaluation…