Federal agencies are increasingly using electronic means to create, exchange, and store information, and in doing so, they frequently create federal records: that is, information, in whatever form, that documents government functions, activities, decisions, and other important transactions. As the volume of electronic information grows, so does…

As the recent outbreak of the H1N1 (swine flu) virus underscores, an influenza pandemic remains a real threat to our nation and to the world. Over the past 3 years, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has conducted a body of work to help the nation better prepare for a possible pandemic. In a February 2009 report, GAO synthesized the…

Presented herein is a statement of George A. Scott, Director Education, Workforce, and Income Security. The author discusses the extent to which the Department of Education's policies and procedures for monitoring eligibility requirements for federal aid at proprietary schools protect students and the investment of Title IV funds. This testimony…

In March 2009, the RAND Frederick S. Pardee Center for Longer Range Global Policy and the Future Human Condition hosted a workshop called "Shaping Tomorrow Today: Near-Term Steps Towards Long-Term Goals." The workshop gave policymakers and analysts an opportunity to explore new methods and tools that can help improve long-term decisionmaking. The…

Merit pay is now in the midst of a renaissance. Hundreds of school districts are experimenting with some type of performance-based pay system. At least six states have statewide or pilot programs, and the federal government has spent close to $100 million on the Teacher Incentive Fund. Whether such programs will last, encourage the start of…

Since 1992, the Chilean Ministry of Education is developing a sustained process to incorporate ICT (Information and Communications Technology) into schools by providing equipment and training to faculty members. Schools appoint one of their teachers as a coordinator who will then receive an intense technological and pedagogical training. The…

This document contains a transcript of prepared remarks for Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to the House Education and Labor Committee. The Secretary discussed provisions for education in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund to supplement state budgets. The Secretary also noted an expanded…

The federal government plays the predominant role in supporting research and development (R&D) and in establishing public policies that affect science and technology (S&T) in the United States. However, the federal government is no longer the sole focus of R&D funding and S&T policy making. State and local policy makers are…

Family literacy programs are a unique component of the adult education system. They work by bringing parents with low literacy skills together with their children to learn and receive instruction, reaching a cohort of people who might not be served by other adult education programs. As parents see their children's learning increase, they are…

New federal spending on student aid is unlikely to improve college access. The increase in access in higher education in America largely came before massive federal involvement in student financial aid programs. Evidence suggests that federal subsidies for student aid may be counterproductive. Modest provision of financial assistance serves to…

Major developments in the field of information science and technology are described for the decade 1968-1978, a period when some very important changes occurred. Information is defined as "the messages of human experience"; however, a distinction is drawn between information content and information processing. Reference is made to the…

This is a compilation of five brief commentaries on Federal educational policy as it relates to Asian and Pacific Americans. In the first, former Congresswoman Patsy Takemoto Mink stresses the importance of organized political action in overcoming problems related to discrimination and economic and educational disadvantages. In the second paper,…

The Bush Administration believes that a modest investment in programs administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service will be an effective way to build the strength of the nonprofit sector and foster the ethic of good citizenship. The administration also believes that federal service programs must be designed to buttress, rather…

Misconceptions contained in reports about the condition of education in the United States are pointed out, and issues omitted from the reports are indicated. Subsequently, the Twentieth Century Fund and its task force are briefly described; in addition, two basic strategic points about which task force members were in agreement concerning American…

Although there is considerable discussion and speculation about decision makers' acceptance and utilization of evaluation findings, little empirical research has been conducted on the subject. The purpose of this research effort is to help fill that void by examining the degree to which findings are accepted and the factors which influence…