U.S. Department of Education
TITLE I, PART C MIGRANT EDUCATION PROGRAM
PSA partnered with SRI to study the implementation of the Title I, Part C Migrant Education Program. The study focused on developing an in-depth understanding how states, districts, and schools organize educational services to support the needs of migratory children and youth. The study included surveys of all 46 state MEP directors and 800+ local/regional MEP coordinators as well as site visits to a purposive and nested sample of 10 state MEP grantees, 20 local/regional MEP subgrantees (two per state), and 40 schools or projects (approximately four per state), a literature review, and analyses of extant data. The study examined how state MEP grantees and local/regional subgrantees implemented the program’s four central components: (1) identification and recruitment, (2) records transfer, (3) service delivery, and (4) coordination and collaboration—and thereby positioned the program to achieve its longer-term goals of reducing barriers to migratory children’s school success, closing the gaps in their academic achievement, and increasing their high school graduation rates.
Study of the Implementation of the ESEA Title I — Part C Migrant Education Program Volume I
Study of the Implementation of the ESEA Title I — Part C Migrant Education Program Volume II: Technical Appendices
Results in Brief: Study of the Implementation of the ESEA Title I, Part C Migrant Education Program
TITLE VI INDIAN EDUCATION GRANTS TO LEAS PROGRAM
PSA partnered with SRI to study the implementation of the Title VI Indian Education Grants to LEAs Program. The study focused on developing an in-depth understanding how states, districts, and schools organized educational services to support the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children and youth. The study included surveys of all 800+ Title VI district, BIE, and tribal grantees as well as site visits to a sample of Title VI-funded projects, a literature review, and analyses of extant data. The study described the strategies grantees use to address the unique education and culturally related academic needs of AI/AN students to enable them to meet the standards expected of all students.
Implementation of the Title VI Indian Education Formula Grants Program: Volume I: Final Report
Implementation of the Title VI Indian Education Formula Grants Program: Volume II: Technical Appendices
Results in Brief: Implementation of the Title VI Indian Education Formula Grants ProgramPSA developed a concept paper that examined accountability indicators for Indian Education Formula Grants. The concept paper provides a definition of accountability and proposes an accountability system for the formula grants that emphasizes compliance with legal statutes and regulations as well as global and project-specific performance indicators for activities performed by OIE staff, project grantees, program outcomes.
PSA conducted a study of Title IX formula grants (the predecessor to Title VI, funded under the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended under the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994), including a detailed review of a sample of Title IX grant applications submitted by local education agencies and interviews with key staff. The study aimed to identify the strengths and weaknesses of LEAs’ comprehensive plans to meet the culturally-related academic needs of American Indian and Alaska Native students. The study also aimed to assess the overall quality and feasibility of the plans. The study yielded a training guide for use by technical assistance providers to help LEAs develop comprehensive plans.
PSA conducted a study of six Indian Education Technical Assistance Centers (IETACs). The study examined and assessed IETAC-provided services and identified factors that influenced their effectiveness. PSA reviewed IETAC-related documents, conducted a literature review on Indian education, conducted interviews with representatives from national and state Indian education organizations and state education agencies as well as interviews with Office of Indian Education personnel, conducted site visits to the IETACs, and surveyed recipients of IETAC services.
21st Century Community Learning Centers Program
PSA, in partnership with the American Institutes for Research, evaluated the 21st Century Community Learning Centers State Competitions. Through case studies of nine states and nine local 21st CCLC-funded after-school programs, the study sought to contribute to federal policymakers’ understanding of the noteworthy strategies and practical challenges related to how states design and launch competitions that yield high-quality programs for high-need communities serving children and youth. PSA developed reporting techniques, including innovative data visualizations, that illustrated the variation among the nine states and nine local grantees, while communicating clear, actionable findings. In addition, to put the results of 21st CCLC state competitions into a broader context, PSA developed a method for linking publicly available U.S. Census data to state 21st CCLC funding allocations to analyze whether states were targeting and distributing 21st CCLC funding to their highest-need, lowest-resourced communities.
EDUCATION FOR HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTH PROGRAM
For the U.S. Department of Education, PSA evaluated the federal program to support the education of homeless children and youth under the McKinney Vento Homeless Services Act. PSA has conducted three national evaluations of the Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education. For each of those studies, PSA administered a state survey and a district survey to assess the needs of homeless youth, the education-related services delivered to them, and the challenges that school systems and state education agencies experience in assessing student needs and delivering appropriate services. The studies include an assessment of state and local efforts to coordinate and collaborate across programs, agencies, and organizations on issues related to serving the educational needs of homeless children and youth.
An Evaluation of State and Local Efforts to Serve the Educational Needs of Homeless Children and Youth
Access and Achievement: Reducing Barriers for Homeless Children and Youth
The Education of Homeless Children and Youth Program: Learning to Succeed
State and District Implementation of the Education of Homeless Children and Youth Program
Supplemental Educational Services under NCLB
PSA conducted the study of early implementation of Supplemental Educational Services under the No Child Left Behind Act (under subcontract to SRI), which looked at early implementation of the supplemental services provisions of NCLB through case studies of six states and nine school districts. The two-year study focused on ways that states, districts, schools, and service providers responded to the requirement to offer supplemental services, including their successes and challenges. The study sample was selected to include states and districts that appeared to be relatively far along in the process, and so the sample was not representative of implementation efforts nationwide. Data collection for the study consisted of telephone interviews with state administrators and site visits to the nine districts for interviews and focus groups with district and school staff and parents.
Early Implementation of Supplemental Educational Services under the No Child Left Behind Act (Year One Report)
Case Studies of Supplemental Services Under the No Child Left Behind Act: Findings from 2003-04 (PDF) (ed.gov)
State Implementation of Federal Education Laws Enacted in 1994
States implementing reauthorized ESEA legislation and Goals 2000 made progress not only in initiating new administrative routines, but also in developing a new outlook on program purpose and activities. Although they were not uniformly achieving an agenda of standards-based, data-driven reform in 1998, they had moved in that direction, according to the study. The study follows up on baseline information collected in 1996-1997 on how state administrators of federal programs initially responded to federal laws that support state and local education reform initiatives. Surveys were administered to state managers of nine federal programs. Out of 468 telephone surveys, 447 were completed, for a response rate of 96 percent.
Living in Interesting Times: Early State Implementation of New Federal Education Laws
Making Progress: An Update on State Implementation of Federal Education Laws Enacted in 1994