Between 2012 and 2018, the U.S. Department of Education invested nearly $350 million in 22 Comprehensive Technical Assistance (TA) Centers that operated across the nation. These Centers were charged with delivering TA that builds the capacity of state education agencies (SEAs) to support local education agencies in improving student outcomes.…

Between 2012 and 2018, the U.S. Department of Education invested nearly $350 million in 22 Comprehensive Technical Assistance (TA) Centers operating across the nation. These Centers were charged with delivering TA that builds the capacity of state education agencies (SEAs) to support local educational agencies (LEAs) in improving student outcomes.…

This evaluation, which focuses on the capacity-building mission of the Comprehensive Centers, was designed to add to the findings of the previous national evaluation of the Comprehensive Centers Program. That evaluation, completed in 2011, used survey data, structured interviews, and rating scales to analyze the extent to which State Education…

Sprockets collaborated with Wilder Research to conduct Journey Mapping sessions with its network partner organizations to learn more about the experiences they have had with Sprockets and to hear from them about future hopes for Sprockets. Information gathered is intended to inform Sprockets' continuous improvement efforts in providing effective…

The Survey of Head Start Grantees on Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) was conducted in program year 2019-2020 with a nationally representative sample of Head Start program directors and Head Start managers/coordinators to understand how Head Start grantees use T/TA of all types and from all sources. Head Start program directors completed…

This document is intended to assist State Education Agency (SEA) and Lead Agency (LA) staff and technical assistance providers in designing a meaningful evaluation for the State Performance Plan (SPP)/Annual Performance Report (APR) improvement activities. It provides: (1) information about the relevance of evaluation in the context of improvement…

The Chapter 1 Program Improvement Project of the Portland (Oregon) Public Schools was designed to provide technical assistance to schools in order to facilitate program change and improve student achievement. The project was a joint effort by the Technical Assistance Center of the Northwest Regional Educational Center and the Portland District…

This monograph aims to provide a blueprint for: (1) expanded supported employment implementation for individuals with disabilities; and (2) improvement in service delivery practices. It contains edited summaries of the discussions of five working groups from a major forum on national supported employment issues which was convened in Williamsburg,…

The Quality Assistance Plan (QAP) for Vocational Education in Illinois is a state-funded program for locally initiated, developed, implemented, and evaluated projects that was begun in Fiscal Year 1982. Its purpose is to build the capacity, in each educational setting, for the improvement of vocational education programs. That improvement should…

In 1984, the State Board of Education, Department of Adult, Vocational, and Technical Education (DAVTE), contracted with an outside evaluator to assess the impact of the Illinois Quality Assistance Plan (QAP). (The QAP is a state-funded program for locally initiated, developed, implemented, and evaluated projects that was begun in Fiscal Year…

Four problems underlying the delivery of technical assistance in Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I evaluation are discussed: (1) the dual missions of facilitating the implementation of the Title I Evaluation and Reporting System and of facilitating the local use of evaluation information frequently require tradeoffs between…

This report extends the results of an earlier study on the use of performance measures and standards to suggest principles for designing outcome-based program improvement systems. It examines the implications of that research for enhancing accountability in future federal work force preparation legislation. It also illustrates specifically how the…

The third year of the contract, 1993-94, was one of culminating activities for the Region F Technical Assistance Center (TAC), as well as a year for preparation for reauthorization. The TAC continued to provide assistance that focused on improving curriculum and instruction across all aspects of Chapter 1. A significant change was the increase in…

The Neighborhood Jobs Initiative (NJI) began in 1998 in five cities (Chicago, Fort Worth, Hartford, New York, and Washington, D.C.) in 1998. The NJI targets high-poverty urban neighborhoods, attempting to connect residents to employment opportunities nearby and in the urban periphery by providing training, supporting interpersonal networks, and…

Program improvement activities can be classified into four categories based on the source of the impetus and the locus of the change agent: systematic, symbolic, opportunistic, and pragmatic. This paper (1) describes the various approaches to implementing Chapter 1 program improvement activities at the state and local district levels in 13 western…