The evaluation design of the 1978-79 local/state bilingual education program of Austin Independent School District is presented. The primary focus of the evaluation is the assessment of the objectives in language development and concept development submitted to the Texas Education Agency. A secondary focus is the collection of information related…

The decade of the 1960's was marked with events designed to create appropriate conditions for equal educational and occupational opportunities. There was a commitment in the 1960's to look at the urban crisis in terms of its educational, sociological, psychological, health, welfare, and housing dimensions, and researchers launched a variety of…

Postsecondary education programs at military installations have been offered jointly by the military and higher education institutions to meet the needs of the on-duty serviceman. Undergraduate and graduate courses are designed to contribute to skills in the military occupation, develop skills for a second career, and provide personal enrichment.…

This report provides descriptive information for public officials and the general public about Maryland's public schools. It is the second report required by the Maryland Educational Accountability Act. This second report contains information about: the implementation of the Maryland Accountability Program on the State and local school system…

It is possible for a district to develop a system of accountability that defines appropriate roles for lay citizens, pupils, teachers, administrators, and the board of education. It is not necessary for accountability to be imposed from the State level through mandates requiring Statewide assessments, competency-based teacher certification plans,…

This book is intended to facilitate the meaningful inclusion of students with disabilities in district and state assessments as required by the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. First, an introductory chapter offers reasons for including students with disabilities in district and statewide accountability systems.…

Turning around a low-performing school is a complex process in which cause-effect relationships are difficult to isolate. But recent interest in helping low-performing schools--spurred on by the reforms mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act--has generated some useful research and thoughtful analysis. This digest explores some of the key…

The 2002 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, known as No Child Left Behind, significantly expands the role of the federal government in elementary and secondary education and has important implications for rural and small schools. This guide examines 15 areas of the legislation that will have the greatest impact on rural…

Recently the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) completed a project to connect the scale of the MCA and BST with NWEA's RIT scale. Six Minnesota systems participated in the study, using test information from a group of over 13,000 students enrolled in third, fifth, and eighth grades who took these Minnesota Assessments and NWEA tests in the…

The results of a survey of 14 Minnesota school districts on the participation of students with disabilities in the Basic Standards Exams are examined in this report. Findings indicate that all 14 districts had at least 50 percent of all eligible students with disabilities participate in the April 1996 testing cycle. Ten districts indicated they…

This report discusses the results of two surveys that investigated the participation of students with limited English proficiency (LEP) in Minnesota's Basic Requirements Exams. In the first survey, 13 school districts answered questions about the participation of students with LEP in Minnesota's Basic Standards Tests. Ten of the districts reported…

The purpose of this booklet, which draws on experience from all over the world, is to provide educational planners, administrators, and managers with analysis and information on using assessment to improve the quality of education. Assessment options and what research and other kinds of evidence reveal about their advantages and disadvantages are…

This report on the Legislative Council begins by providing an indepth look at the policies of the Oregon educational environment and the changes beginning in the 1990s with legislation and policy changes that resulted in the ability to compare Oregon schools in ways that did not exist before. These commonalities created a framework in which the…

This analysis of a survey of state directors of special education concerning special education outcomes highlights the following findings: (1) more students with disabilities are participating in statewide testing and states are better at documenting actual numbers participating; (2) high stakes attached to school or district performance and lack…

This review of state higher education assessment policies sought to test assumptions and conclusions reached during an initial phase of the study, to explore the dynamics of the process by which assessment becomes a state-level issue or concern, and to better understand the multifaceted relationship between state assessment policy and the…