ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Effects of HISD Prekindergarten Programs on Third-Grade Students&apos; Academic Achievement, 2015-2016. Evaluation Report
Author: Spikes, Sara
Date: 2017-01-20
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: School Districts,Preschool Education,Grade 3,Academic Achievement,Reading Achievement,Mathematics Achievement,Scores,Economically Disadvantaged,Reading Tests,Mathematics Tests,Achievement Tests,Outcomes of Education,Program Evaluation

The Houston Independent School District (HISD) currently offers free, full-day prekindergarten programs to all eligible students within the district's attendance boundaries. This evaluation compares the academic achievement of third-grade students who were previously enrolled in HISD prekindergarten programs during the 2011-2012 school year to their non-HISD Pre-K peers. Findings in this study suggest that a positive relationship may exist between students' enrollment in an HISD Pre-K program and their academic achievement on the 2016 STAAR English and Spanish reading and mathematics assessments. The relationship of HISD Pre-K on students' achievement varied when demographic characteristics were taken into account. Findings also show that economically-disadvantaged students who attended HISD prekindergarten programs experienced higher academic achievement than their economically-disadvantaged peers who did not attend HISD Pre-K.
The Post-9/11 GI Bill: Beneficiaries, Choices, and Cost
Author: Bass, Elizabeth
Date: 2019-05-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Veterans,Federal Legislation,Educational Legislation,Student Financial Aid,Higher Education,Program Effectiveness,Federal Aid,Eligibility,Expenditures,College Students

Beginning August 1, 2009, the Post-9/11 GI Bill extended educational benefits to service members who were on active duty in the military on or after September 11, 2001. This GI Bill (officially the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008), the latest version of a law that helps veterans pay for higher education, provides more extensive benefits than have ever been offered to current and former service members, enabling them to transfer its benefits to certain family members and to enroll in a wide array of educational and training programs. In March 2019, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reported that in 2018 it spent about $10.7 billion on 700,000 beneficiaries of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. At the request of the House Budget Committee, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analyzed data from VA to understand the law's cost, the types of educational programs beneficiaries enrolled in, and the institutions they attended. CBO also reviewed research related to some of the law's stated purposes, such as motivating people to join or stay in the military and using the educational benefits as part of readjusting to civilian life. This analysis primarily describes spending in 2016, with some information from 2017 and some historical data from 2009 onward.
Use of the Post-9/11 GI Bill by the National Guard and Reserves
Author: Bass, Elizabeth
Date: 2019-12-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Federal Legislation,Veterans,Veterans Education,Military Personnel,Tuition,Fees,Housing,Eligibility,Costs,Postsecondary Education,Educational Finance,Institutional Characteristics,Higher Education,Enrollment Rate,Expenditure per Student,Armed Forces

The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides educational benefits to service members and veterans who served on active duty on or after September 11, 2001. This GI Bill (officially the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008), which covers tuition, fees, housing, and related educational expenses, is managed by the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), part of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Partial benefits are available after 90 days of active-duty service, and many members of the National Guard and reserves have met that threshold because they have been activated for extended periods in support of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those with longer active-duty service receive greater benefits. This report focuses on the reserve component's use of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits in 2016 and the cost of those benefits. (Throughout this report, &quot;reserve component&quot; refers collectively to the non-active-duty part of the U.S. military, which encompasses the National Guard and reserves.) In 2016, about 78,500 members of the reserve component used the program, and the total cost to VBA for those benefits was about $1 billon. About half of that amount was for tuition and fees; most of the remainder was for housing allowances. The cost of providing education benefits to the reserve component under the Post-9/11 GI Bill is higher than it was under earlier laws. Whereas the Montgomery GI Bill--Selected Reserve program and the Reserve Educational Assistance Program (REAP) have been available only to members of the reserve component, the Post-9/11 GI Bill may be used by both the reserve and regular components. The report compares the way members of the reserve and regular components use their benefits. Overall, there were few variations in how members of the reserve component and other veterans used their benefits, but there was a difference in how much those benefits cost.
Motivating Learners by Meeting Their Needs: The Introduction of a Business English Track at the unibz Language Centre
Author: Ennis, Michael Joseph
Date: 2020-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Student Motivation,Extracurricular Activities,Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,English (Second Language),Business English,Foreign Countries,Barriers,Language Proficiency,Required Courses,English for Special Purposes,Student Needs,Multilingualism,Universities,Language Tests,Labor Market,Blended Learning,Distance Education,Personal Autonomy,Feedback (Response),Employers

One of the greatest challenges faced by university language centers in Italy is finding ways to motivate students to complete extracurricular language courses offered to help them meet their language proficiency requirements for graduation. It was hypothesized that the root of the problem was that the existing course offerings focus too narrowly on the most urgent need of meeting language requirements, and that one solution might be to shift from the teaching of languages for general purposes to the teaching of languages for specific purposes. This chapter examines this approach from the perspective of the widely recognized, but seldom empirically studied, link between ESP and motivation vis-à-vis the satisfaction of learner needs. After an analysis of some of the unfulfilled needs of students at the trilingual Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, the present paper relies upon both qualitative and quantitative data to report the impact of a pilot Business English track of courses which has been introduced in order to increase student participation and sustain their motivation by meeting four specific needs: 1) their need for Business English in order to gain a competitive advantage in an internationalized labor market; 2) their dual need to pass an internationally recognized English language exam in order certify their English proficiency and demonstrate to employers their specific skills in Business English; 3) their need for blended and distance learning options as well as negotiable assignment submission deadlines in order to grant them the flexibility, agency, and autonomy their active lives as students demand; 4) their need for continuous assessment in order to provide the feedback, support, and structure they need to complete such a course. [This chapter was published in: E. Bonetto, M. J. Ennis, &amp; D. Unterkofler (Eds.), &quot;Teaching Languages for Specific and Academic Purposes in Higher Education -- English, Deutsch, Italiano&quot; (pp. 243-264). Bozen-Bolzano, Italy: Bozen-Bolzano University Press.]
Keystone Scholars: A State-Wide Pennsylvania Child Savings Accounts Initiative. CPRE Policy Briefs
Author: Nathenson, Robert A.
Date: 2019-08-01
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Money Management,Children,State Programs,Paying for College,Family Programs,Data Use,Incentives,Long Range Planning,Taxes,Investment,Infants,Expectation,Academic Aspiration

In 2019 the Pennsylvania Treasury launched a state-wide children's savings account (CSA) initiative, Keystone Scholars. Keystone Scholars provides $100 in college savings to eligible families - all children born or adopted in Pennsylvania after January 1, 2019. In this introductory research brief, we describe how CSAs are an important tool for families to increase educational expectations and asset accumulation, particularly for college savings, offer a preliminary look into college savings accounts in Pennsylvania, and explore how the Pennsylvania Treasury is using data-driven insights to encourage college savings of Pennsylvanian households.
Third Grade Reading Laws: Implementation and Impact
Author: Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)
Date: 2019-07-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Reading Instruction,Literacy Education,Grade 3,State Legislation,Educational Legislation,Educational Policy,State Policy,Program Effectiveness,Reading Achievement,Prevention,Intervention

Recognizing the critical importance of early literacy, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO) have both worked intensively with states on birth through third grade improvement strategies across literacy and other learning domains. Third grade reading laws are one strategy that many states have employed to address early literacy challenges; at least 26 states have passed third grade reading laws over the past 20 years. This brief is intended to give an overview of the current status of state third grade reading laws and policies, with the goal of supporting states' early literacy goals. A closer look at third grade reading implementation approaches in four states with high levels of recent growth, Tennessee, Indiana, Nevada, and Mississippi, suggests deeper lessons for states beyond the specifics of a law.
SBA Veterans Assistance Programs: An Analysis of Contemporary Issues. CRS Report R42695, Version 74. Updated
Author: Dilger, Robert Jay
Date: 2019-08-27
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Veterans,Entrepreneurship,Small Businesses,Employment Experience,Labor Force,Employment Patterns,Employee Assistance Programs,Public Agencies,Transitional Programs,Federal Aid,Federal Programs

Several federal agencies, including the Small Business Administration (SBA), provide training and other assistance to veterans seeking civilian employment. For example, the Department of Defense (DOD), in cooperation with the SBA, Department of Labor, Department of Veterans Affairs, and several other federal agencies, operates the Transition Goals Plans Success program (Transition GPS), which provides employment information and entrepreneurship training to exiting military servicemembers to assist them in transitioning from the military to the civilian labor force. The SBA provides services to more than 100,000 veterans each year through its various management and technical assistance training partners (e.g., Small Business Development Centers, Women's Business Centers [WBCs], Service Corps of Retired Executives [SCORE], and Veterans Business Outreach Centers [VBOCs]). This report opens with an examination of the economic circumstances of veteran-owned businesses drawn from the Bureau of the Census's 2012 Survey of Business Owners (SBO). It then provides a brief overview of veterans' employment experiences, comparing unemployment and labor force participation rates for veterans, veterans who have left the military since September 2001, and nonveterans. The report also describes employment assistance programs offered by several federal agencies to assist veterans in their transition from the military to the civilian labor force and examines, in greater detail, the SBA's veteran business development programs, the SBA's efforts to assist veterans' access to capital, and the SBA's veteran contracting programs. It also discusses the SBA's Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and P.L. 114-38, the Veterans Entrepreneurship Act of 2015, which authorized and made permanent, under specified circumstances, the SBA's recent practice of waiving the SBAExpress loan program's one time, up-front loan guarantee fee for veterans (and their spouse).
Early Childhood Care and Education Programs: Background and Funding. CRS Report R40212, Version 23. Updated
Author: Lynch, Karen E.
Date: 2016-05-16
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Early Childhood Education,Educational Finance,Federal Aid,Budgets,Taxes,Expenditures,Block Grants,Home Visits,Preschool Education,Disabilities,Educational Legislation,Equal Education,Federal Legislation,Child Care,American Indian Education,Food Service,Tax Credits,Welfare Services,Social Services,Elementary Secondary Education

The federal government has a long history of investing in early childhood care and education. As early as the 1930s, the government was supporting nursery schools for low-income children. Over time, the federal role in early childhood care and education has evolved, and today's federal investments in this area come in many forms. This report begins with information on current and historical funding levels for a selection of early childhood care and education programs and tax provisions. Table 1 presents information on the FY2017 Obama Administration's budget request for such programs, while Table 2 provides a seven-year funding history (FY2010-FY2016) for these early childhood care and education programs and tax provisions. The funding section is followed by a series of program summaries (Table 3 has a comparison of basic characteristics for selected programs). The program summaries have been organized into three categories: (1) targeted programs that exclusively or primarily provide early childhood services; (2) tax provisions that support the child care expenses of working families; and (3) certain broad-based and flexible programs that may be used to support early childhood care and education. Appendix A of this report provides some additional information on early childhood programs that do not currently receive federal funding. Appendix B presents a list of abbreviations and acronyms used throughout the report.
Connecting Commitments, Principles, and Practices to Strategically Address Equity and Improvement
Author: Layland, Allison
Date: 2019-11-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Equal Education,Educational Improvement,Educational Strategies,Student Improvement,Academic Achievement,Elementary Secondary Education,Educational Legislation,Federal Legislation,Evidence Based Practice,Educational Objectives,Stakeholders,Educational Equity (Finance),Progress Monitoring

The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA) provides state education agencies (SEA) with more flexibility to rethink how to identify and address low school performance while elevating the role of local education agencies (LEAs) in supporting schools in need of improvement. As states pursue plans to support schools with the most need for improvement, three frameworks are particularly promising in addressing the problems of inequity and low performance: (1) Commitment to Equity; (2) School Improvement Systems; and (3) Rapid School Improvement Practices and Indicators. These three resources, each a framework of sorts, offer strategies and practices that could drive dramatic improvement for all schools, especially those with the greatest gaps and disparities. This paper identifies connections among the three frameworks and offers specific recommendations that leverage these connections in an equity-conscious approach to improve school and student performance. An equity-conscious approach to school improvement would inform the most effective strategies to be employed at each level of the education system and would guide the successful implementation of these strategies so each student can receive the instruction, services, and supports necessary for success.
House and Senate Floor and Committee Action to Reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act: 1966 to Present. CRS Report R43761, Version 5. Updated
Author: Skinner, Rebecca R.
Date: 2016-02-19
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Educational Legislation,Elementary Secondary Education,Federal Legislation,Legislators,Voting

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was initially enacted in 1965 (P.L. 89-10). Since then, there have been 13 major reauthorizations of the ESEA, with the most recent reauthorization occurring in 2015 with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, P.L. 114-95). This report provides information on the votes taken in the House and Senate in the committees of jurisdiction and on the House and Senate floors prior to and following conference proceedings for the ESEA of 1965 and subsequent major reauthorizations. The report also provides vote information on comprehensive ESEA reauthorization bills that were considered in the committees of jurisdiction or on the House or Senate floors following the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB; P.L. 107-110) but prior to the consideration of the ESSA. During the 112th and 113th Congresses, both committees with jurisdiction over the ESEA ordered ESEA reauthorization bills to be reported. In the 113th Congress, an ESEA reauthorization bill was considered on the House floor.
Evidence of Improvement: Guidelines to Inform Exit Criteria for ESSA State Accountability Systems
Author: Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)
Date: 2019-07-00
Type: Guides - General
Subjects: Elementary Secondary Education,Educational Legislation,Federal Legislation,Criteria,Accountability,School Effectiveness,Sustainability,Educational Improvement,Educational Principles,State Standards

Much has been written about requirements in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) related to school classification, particularly with respect to approaches for determining if a school should be identified for support. However, less attention has been given to methods for determining when a school's performance is sufficient to exit such identification. Exit criteria offer clear goals to schools and districts that are connected to the state's accountability system and reflect improvement expectations that should be sustained over time. If exit criteria are incoherently or unintentionally specified, they can lead to unattainable targets, inaccurate interpretations of whether schools need the same intensity of support, or distractions associated with managing perceptions instead of improvement. Accordingly, the focus of this brief is to discuss principles to inform exit criteria and to provide guidance to help state leaders apply these principles. The essential question we attempt to address in this brief is, &quot;How can we recognize sustainable and scalable school improvement when we see it?&quot; Because this is a timely and important issue to state education leaders, we explicitly frame this topic in the context of school accountability systems developed in response to ESSA. In fact, we will focus most directly on approaches to inform exit standards for the categories of Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) and Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) given the explicit statutory requirements for these categories, detailed in the next section. We believe the principles addressed in this document have broad implications for accountability and support practices that transcend the policies and practices of ESSA.
The Role of State Approving Agencies in the Administration of GI Bill Benefits. CRS Report R44728, Version 2. Updated
Author: Dortch, Cassandria
Date: 2016-12-29
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: State Agencies,Veterans,Federal Legislation,Agency Cooperation,Veterans Education,Compliance (Legal),Program Implementation,Program Termination,Inspection,Educational Quality,Professional Development,Accountability,Resource Allocation,Correspondence Study,Accreditation (Institutions),Flight Training,Certification

The Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA), previously named the Veterans Administration, has been providing veterans' educational assistance (GI Bill®) benefits since 1944. Since 1947, State Approving Agencies (SAAs) have been an important component in the administration of GI Bill benefits, along with the VA, educational institutions, and training establishments. This report provides an overview of state approving agencies (SAAs). It highlights their roles and responsibilities in the administration of GI Bill benefits and the processes through which they fulfill those roles. Because work processes and responsibilities are variable and subject to regular adjustment, the descriptions herein are accurate as of the date of publication. Additionally, in a limited number of instances the report identifies some divergent depictions of work processes from difference sources, but it does not attempt to evaluate or reconcile differences in the accounts.
The Foundations of Discovery: A Report on the Assessment of the Impacts of the Cataloging Hidden Collections Program, 2008-2019
Author: Banks, Joy M.
Date: 2019-09-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Cataloging,Library Services,Library Materials,Archives,Academic Libraries,Program Evaluation

From 2008 to 2014, the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) administered the Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives program, which granted funds to catalog &quot;hidden&quot; collections of high scholarly value. Generously supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the program awarded more than $27.4 million to academic, cultural heritage, and other collecting institutions. To assess the program's impact, CLIR conducted a comprehensive analysis of final reports from all 128 projects funded through the program. This report describes the methods and findings of the analysis, including cataloging outputs, as well as impact on hiring, policies and procedures, communication tools, and research and outreach. The findings of this report are divided into four sections: an overview of project demographics, a summary of project outputs, a discussion of other outcomes, and an examination of the lasting impact of the program.