This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Inc. CEMREL, Boston. Massachusetts Advocacy Center, Penny McKay, David Robinson, Sacramento. California State Dept. of Education, Angela Scarino, PA. Office of Research and Evaluation. Philadelphia School District, Quincy. Bureau of Equal Educational Opportunity. Massachusetts State Dept. of Education, Washington Congress of the U.S., and Boston. Bureau of Research and Assessment. Massachusetts State Dept. of Education.
(1977). Evaluation of Title I ESEA Projects, 1976-77: Technical Reports. Report #77140. This volume compiles technical reports of Title I Elementary and Secondary Education Act project evaluations conducted during the 1976-77 academic year in the school district of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The reports include rationale, expected outcomes, mode of operation, previous evaluative findings, current implementation, and attainment of objectives for each project. A series of comprehensive mathematics projects encompassed educable retarded and Title I students in grades 2-12, and focused on remedial assistance in computational skills through classroom, tutorial, and individualized instruction. Included was a project to reduce mathematics skill deficiencies in grades 2-6 by providing the schools with mathematics resource teachers. A series of comprehensive reading projects provided similiar remedial instruction. Other projects involved intensive reading; bilingual education, counseling, computer-assisted instruction, skill and learning centers, a multimedia center, and neglected and delinquent children. Also evaluated were a project to provide high school students with cultural and curriculum enrichment to motivate them to seek post secondary education, and a project employing local residents as school-community coordinators. Summer components of Title I projects are also examined. Favorable learning environments, reversal of some student underachievement trends, and increased parental participation are attributed to Philadelphia's Title I projects. Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Basic Skills, Compensatory Education, Disadvantaged Youth
(1977). Report to the Vincent Astor Foundation; New York/London Middle School Conference. The New York-London Middle Schools Project of 1976 provided an opportunity for a representative group of London educators to study New York City's public school system in terms of school community relations, school based planning and staff development at the junior high/intermediate school level. In this report, British educators provide a brief overview of their impressions of the project commenting on issues such as the relationship of education to society; teacher contracts; testing, evaluation and accountability; bilingual education and programs for minority students; school community relations; school and curriculum planning; school based staff development; school industry linkages; and educational reform. Profiles of schools visited and comments about them are also provided. A series of papers, prepared as background information for the British visitors are also presented. They cover such topics as decentralization and community control; the state of the arts of middle schools; a psychological anthropologist's view of ethnicity and schooling; strategies for school development; organizing, administering and supervising middle schools; public education in New York City; remediation in the middle school; the results of an experiment which redesigned school space; the role of parents in the middle school, and suggested strategies to bring the world of work to the classroom. Descriptors: Community Control, Conference Reports, Educational Planning, Educational Policy
(1978). Evaluation Report of Multiple-Funded Programs, 1976-77. California has consolidated the administration of funds allocated to its schools through state programs–the Early Childhood Education Act (ECE), the Educationally Disadvantaged Youth Act, the Bilingual Education Act of 1972, and the Miller-Unruh Basic Reading Act–as well as Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This report analyzes data on the number and character of program participants, the quality of programs, and student achievement in schools receiving funds from one or more of these sources. The evaluation reveals that over a million students were served and that the number of volunteers involved in school programs more than doubled over the previous school year. Students participating in funded programs tended to be more mobile or transient, more likely to speak second languages, and of lower socioeconomic background than those not served, making comparisons with students in nonparticipating programs inappropriate. Program ratings tended to be good, particularly in grades with ECE funding. Student achievement generally averaged above national norms. Results of two special studies designed to examine indepth the characteristics of ECE schools with increasing and decreasing test scores are also presented. Discussion of the data reported is clarified through use of numerous tables. [More] Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Elementary Secondary Education, Federal Aid, Program Effectiveness
(1988). Oversight Hearings on the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI). Hearings before the Subcommittee on Select Education, Committee on Education and Labor. House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, Second Session (April 20-21, 1988). The purpose of this 2-day hearing was to determine what the federal role should be in sponsoring educational research and development (R&D) and the extent to which the nation's research agenda reflects America's key educational priorities. Thirty-nine statements, letters, and supplemental materials are presented. The Office of Educational Research and Improvement's proposal concerning funding for a center on the study of the education of disadvantaged students is discussed. Educational R&D efforts by the House of Representatives, and the Administration's commitment to educational research are considered. Shifts away from basic research between 1980 and 1985 toward dissemination have undermined the research enterprise across the entire Department of Education (DOE). Issues discussed include: literacy and reading, school improvement and effectiveness, bilingual education, accountability, school finance, the business community's role, educational achievement, education for poor and at-risk populations, dissemination, education information, demonstration research, educational testing and evaluation, coordination, communication, cooperation, and excellence in education. Enhanced federal education research programs, research laboratories, centers, and information bureaus are needed. Educational R&D efforts must be conceived within the context of the interdependent nature of the research/development/dissemination triad, since the impact of R&D knowledge depends upon how effectively that knowledge is delivered to educational practitioners and policymakers. It is recommended that the DOE needs to establish a National Education Information Dissemination Policy. [More] Descriptors: Disadvantaged, Educational Finance, Educational Improvement, Educational Research
(1987). The Australian Language Levels (ALL) Project–A Response to Curriculum Needs in Australia. Australia has a unique range of language communities and language education needs. A variety of languages is currently offered to different groups of learners through diverse programs. Language teaching may be provided through bilingual education, limited-exposure programs, or compulsory language instruction. Federal and state education agencies, policies, and curriculum initiatives further complicate the language teaching situation and increase the need to coordinate policy with curriculum development. New developments in language teaching also make curriculum change desirable. The Australian Language Levels (ALL) Project is evolving from these influences. The ALL Project focuses on the coordination of change in language education by supporting and facilitating changes already occurring in language education, bringing coherence to the language field at the national level, and producing guidelines to assist in this process. To date, the project has produced two conceptual bases or frameworks for change: an organizational framework for describing language learning at different educational levels, and a curricular framework, or guidelines, for teachers and instructional developers. The curricular guidelines address the principles, goals, and activities of language learning. The curricular framework is deemed to be theoretically and methodologically applicable to the teaching of English as a second language as well as to foreign language instruction. [More] Descriptors: Change Strategies, Cultural Pluralism, Curriculum Development, Educational Change
(1985). Course Taking among Massachusetts High School Students. This report summarizes the results of a study conducted to provide a complete and documented picture of public secondary education in Massachusetts. The study involved an analysis of questionnaire data and transcripts from about 3,000 graduates in the 1984 school year. Specifically, the study addressed the following questions: (1) How do student distribute their coursework among subject areas? (2) How much academic coursework do students take? (3) How does the coursework of Massachusetts students compare with that of students in the rest of the country? (4) How much of students' coursework is taken in more demanding courses? (5) How is coursework related to requirements? and (6) What particular patterns of coursework exist among Massachusetts students? Students in special programs such as special education, vocational education, and bilingual education were excluded from the study. The report's final section describes the coursework patterns of three types of students: (1) those with a strong academic orientation; (2) those with a strong occupational orientation; and (3) those with a "non-directed" or general orientation. Descriptors: College Bound Students, Course Selection (Students), Curriculum Design, Elective Courses
(1990). Controlled Choice in Boston: The First Year. This evaluation of the first-year elementary school implementation of Boston's pilot "controlled choice" student assignment plan found that very little had been accomplished in planning for school improvement and that future desegregation compliance hinges on key decisions about secondary and bilingual education, and the empowerment of administrators, school staff, and advisory councils. The controlled choice assignment plan gives parents the opportunity to indicate preferences for the schools their children will attend and also stimulates school improvement. The plan includes school improvement councils that advise the zone superintendent on the use of state and Federal funds to strengthen schools unable to attract applicants. The new student assignment process did not resegregate schools, as some had feared, despite problems with ambiguous language in the plan, too many white students assigned to kindergarten seats, and lack of an appeals process. Problems with parent information and recruitment were related to delays in decision-making by the superintendent and the school board and to insufficient clarity about which decisions should be made by zone superintendents. The potential for school improvement that is an implicit and essential part of a choice plan has been forestalled by the failure to link the results of parent choice with school-level improvement plans. The plan cannot be extended to high schools until issues concerning the location and size of bilingual programs and curriculum reforms have been decided. Statistical data are included on ten tables. Descriptors: Desegregation Plans, Educational Improvement, Elementary Education, Parent Participation
(1990). Locked In/Locked Out: Tracking and Placement Practices in Boston Public Schools. In the past 8 years, Boston Public schools have introduced various policy changes aimed at institutionalizing educational equality. Standardization efforts have ignored certain student grouping practices that actually exaggerate and institutionalize inequality in Boston Public Schools. Ability grouping ensures the isolation of students labeled as "different," treats diversity and heterogeneity as liabilities, and allocates the most challenging and enriching educational experiences primarily to students categorized as most "able." This report examines how school-based and districtwide ability grouping practices have eroded the educational experience for all children and put large numbers of Boston's most vulnerable students at a continuous disadvantage. Tracking practices such as ability grouping in regular classes and student placement in special education, bilingual education, and advanced work classes contribute to the failure of the Boston school system, which loses 40 percent of its students before graduation and provides an inadequate education to the majority of those remaining. Based on both statistical data and educational research, the report defines schooling, shows how sorting and grouping practices create an uneven playing field, analyzes consequences for minority students, advocates restructuring for diversity and equal educational opportunity, and advances de-tracking as a moral imperative. Alternative instructional approaches (like accelerated learning, cooperative learning, and peer and cross-age tutoring) are recommended. Extensive chapter references appear at the end of the report. A brochure which describes this report is included. Descriptors: Ability Grouping, Disadvantaged Youth, Elementary Secondary Education, Equal Education
(1978). Chicano Studies and Chicanismo. The Chicano Movement acts as a revitalization movement for involved individuals. Revitalization occurs when an individual perceives himself as part of a broader group, becomes aware of the problems confronting the group, and decides to do something to rectify the situation. This process begins with a crisis situation which overcomes the individual's present but unsatisfactory Mexican American mentality (e.g., when the problems facing Mexican Americans become intolerable). Such mental emancipation is a necessary step toward the evolution of a Chicano mentality. As the individual experiences his emancipation, social change begins, as is evidenced by the many Chicano strategies and movements of the 1960's and early 1970's. However, many of the social conditions previously stressful to Mexican Americans (the Viet Nam war, United Farm Workers problems, lack of bilingual education) have been defused and individual involvement in the Chicano Movement has consequently declined. It is the responsibility of those involved in Chicano Studies to take an active role in the development of Chicano mentality and the perpetuation of social change by exposing the Establishment's continuing suppression of the Mexican American. Descriptors: Activism, Change Strategies, Cultural Awareness, Cultural Background
(1977). Title I ESEA Projects: Digest of Annual Evaluations. Supplementary Edition 1976-77. Report No. 77131. This digest provides a historical summary of the key findings reported in the annual evaluations of each of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania school district's Title I, Elementary and Secondary Education Act projects since 1975. The 1976-1977 management information, the 1975-1976 key findings, and the preliminary findings for 1976-1977 are presented. Title I projects evaluated here include Affective Education, Benchmark, Bilingual Education, Comprehensive Mathematics Project, Comprehensive Reading Project, Computer Managed Instruction, Counseling Services, Creative Dramatics, Education in World Affairs, Episcopal Academy: Summer Enrichment, English As A Second Language–Readiness, English to Speakers of Other Languages, Follow Through, Institutions for Neglected and Delinquent Children, Learning Centers, Meet the Artist, Motivation, Multimedia Center, Out-of-School Sequenced Science Experiences, School-Community Coordinator, Speech and Hearing, Summer Special Education, Walnut Center, Young Audiences, and Elementary Mathematics Classroom Aides. Note: Those interested in key findings prior to 1975 are referred to the Index Volume, Title I ESEA Projects: Digest of Annual Evaluations 1965-76. Report No. 7681 (ED 113 385). Descriptors: Abstracts, Annual Reports, Compensatory Education, Disadvantaged Youth
(1988). Language Policy and Planning. ERIC Digest. Language planning is official, government-level activity concerning the selection and promotion of a unified administrative language or languages. Language planning initiatives arise in response to sociopolitical needs and attempt to meet those needs by reducing linguistic diversity. Several stages occur in the language planning process. The first stage, needs analysis, involves the selection of the language or language variety. The next stages are called "status planning" and include codification and standardization. Fine-tuning the selected language or language variety is called "corpus planning" and includes elaboration and cultivation. Specific areas of language use that are affected by language planning decisions include writing systems, lexicon, and syntax. Responses from educational systems to language planning decisions include monolingual instructional programs, transitional bilingual education programs, language maintenance programs, and immersion programs. Many different groups of people are involved in language planning initiatives, including sociologists, political scientists, educators, linguists, writers, and national language academies. The status of language planning in the United States is described. [More] Descriptors: Change Strategies, Language Planning, Language Role, Official Languages
(1977). Final Evaluation Report 1976-77. State Compensatory Education. Publication Number 76.61. The Texas State Compensatory Education program (SCE) had three components: (1) basic skills; (2) bilingual education; and (3) planning–including specification of competencies for grades K-6, Title I model program development; and coordination of Title I, Title I Migrant, and SCE for effective use of federal resources. Because of the diversity of programs planned by the ten schools in the basic skills component and the four schools participating in the bilingual component, the SCE evaluation was not objectives-based; instead, it focused on thirty decision questions regarding the program's potential for generalization to other funding sources and other schools, since refunding of SCE was unlikely. Most of the questions addressed the planning of SCE programs and staff development workshops, implementation (in general and by individual schools), and the role of area directors and instructors. Several questions dealt with academic achievement as measured by the California Achievement Tests and the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts. The remaining questions involved attendance, student attitudes, and use of SCE instructional materials. [More] Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Achievement Gains, Basic Skills, Compensatory Education
(1978). Studies of School Evaluation Practice. To examine the impact of program evaluation information upon decision making, case studies were conducted of five different programs: (1) a diagnostic teaching kindergarten program (K-LEAD), funded under the Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I; (2) Project MORE, an ESEA Title IV-C funded junior high school program dealing with school failure, discipline, and truancy; (3) an individually guided education program designed to improve achievement and morale; (4) a career education program–orientation toward the world of work–a Title IV-C project involving an entire high school; and (5) an innovative bilingual education program using the language experience approach at the elementary school level. Interviews were conducted with key staff who were involved in each of these program evaluations. The results indicated that the evaluation data tended to have influence, but not absolute impact, upon the decisions made by local program staff. Since program directors were typically the key decision-making audience for the evaluations, their relationships with the evaluators were very important. It was suggested that evaluators should provide information that is useful to program directors, in order to encourage utlization of the evaluation results. Descriptors: Case Studies, Decision Making, Educational Practices, Elementary Secondary Education
(1977). Consumer Information. Final Report. One of three projects reported by the Central Midwestern Regional Educational Laboratory included analysis of 178 existing consumer information products. Steps in the analytical scheme were preparation of an annotated bibliography and development of a plan for providing objective, comparative information on such products. These were found in the areas of reading, mathematics, social studies, exceptional children/learning disabilities, career education/vocational education, English, exemplary practice, bilingual education, and general curriculum. Social studies products were considered model products because they were comprehensive, had useful retrieval systems, and presented information in a lively and readable fashion. The second project consists of the development of a questionnaire survey which will be administered to analyse features of the NIE Catalog, one of the largest consumer information products in existence. The Laboratory suggested guidelines for revised entries into the Catalog based on informal reactions to it. Included in the report are: (1) analytical framework outline; (2) list of products studied; and (3) NIE Catalog questionnaire. The final report discusses current social studies curricula and suggests an approach to selecting among them. Descriptors: Catalogs, Consumer Education, Consumer Protection, Content Analysis
(1978). Working with Your Schools. A Handbook of the Louisiana Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. In this handbook, the relationship of education to the United States Constitution is described for the benefit of students and their parents. Legislation, funding, and the decision-making process are examined as they relate to the public school system. Legal rights of students and parents with regard to many controversial issues, including suspensions, discrimination, corporal punishment, ability grouping, bilingual education and the Freedom of Information Act, are detailed. Recommendations are made about how to influence school decisions and how to evaluate educational programs. The Louisiana State Education Agencies and laws are described in terms of action strategies parents and students may use to assure that their rights are respected. Various legal facts about the Louisiana school system are listed in a question and answer format. Instructions are provided concerning when and how to file complaints and suggestions are made about dealing with schools, principals, guidance counselors, courts and State and Federal agencies. Sample forms for filing different complaints are reprinted. The two appendices provide practical information on dealing with people in the educational pyramid and on questions to ask in the school evaluation process. [More] Descriptors: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Decision Making, Educational Assessment