As originally conceptualized, Early Colleges were small schools focused purposefully on college readiness for all students. Frequently located on college campuses, Early Colleges targeted students who might face challenges in postsecondary education, including students who were the first in their family to go to college, economically disadvantaged…

Despite the national proliferation of technical assistance as a driver for school reform and as a model for embedded and sustained professional development, very little is known about the organizational structures and processes needed to support technical assistance. The purpose of this paper is to describe a structured needs assessment process…

This report summarizes the findings and recommendations of Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) research and technical assistance activities that were completed between 2007 and 2013. The purpose of these activities was to investigate whether ILPs should be considered a promising practice for youth with and without disabilities and to identify…

The federal School Improvement Grants (SIG) program aims to improve student achievement by promoting the implementation of four school intervention models: transformation, turnaround, restart, and closure. Previous research provides evidence that low-performing schools adopt some practices promoted by the four models, but little is known about how…

"Success for All" (SFA) is one of the best known and thoroughly evaluated school reform models. Further evaluation of the initiative is especially important for two reasons. First, the program model has continued to evolve over time, with a greater emphasis placed on the use of engaging technology in the classroom and on the deployment…

Response to intervention (RTI) is a framework for providing interventions and services at increasing levels of intensity until students succeed. The framework helps teachers and schools provide instruction and interventions matched to student needs, monitor progress frequently to guide decisions about changes in instruction or goals, and apply…

As a result of an evaluation of Title IV programs commissioned by the Utah State Office of Education, this manual addresses the needs of government agencies in providing technical assistance, such as proposal and report preparation or budget management, to local education agencies. Emphasis falls on the funding of technical assistance services,…

The article presents a conceptual model to be utilized in conducting the necessary needs assessment activities to implement a successful gifted program at the school district or state agency level. (Author/DLS)

Describes an enrollment-forecasting process in which technical experts and local community stakeholders worked together to produce cost-effective, yet fairly accurate data. The large Oregon district employing the process gained insights to guide its attendance-zone and facilities-planning decisions and to garner community support. (MLH)

This booklet was designed as a guide for administrators involved in the school desegregation process in Illinois. The following information is provided: a list of requirements for the elimination and prevention of school segregation and racial discrimination under Illinois' School Code; a model for local districts to use in implementing…

Illustrates the web of relationships among state education agencies, regional educational service agencies (RESAs), state legislatures, state boards of education, and school districts through case studies of two RESA systems. Also compares the "active" and "quiet" approaches taken by the respective states and identifies policy…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of a 3-year project in Mississippi to encourage the use of best practices in early intervention with children having disabilities and to increase community-based service options through use of a flexible inservice training and support model. The outreach training model focused on…

The present approach to providing state assistance to school districts focuses exclusively on conceptual issues and ignores certain critical aspects of physical implementation. The model proposed emphasizes the use of microcomputers in the physical support system and describes an inservice program to train people to use the machines. (Author/IRT)

The assertion that Model C is feasible for Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I evaluation, why it is feasible, and reasons why it is so seldom used are explained. Two assumptions must be made to use the special regression model. First, a strict cut-off must be used on the pretest to assign students to Title I and comparison groups. Second,…

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…