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The Even Start Literacy Program, established in 1989, aims to simultaneously improve the literacy of children and their parents through (1) early childhood education; (2) parenting education; (3) adult education; and (4) parent-child joint literacy activities. The report details findings from the third national Even Start evaluation. The evaluation included two complementary studies: the Even Start Performance Information Reporting System (ESPIRS), which provided annual data on the universe of Even Start projects, and the Experimental Design Study (EDS) which examined Even Start effectiveness in 18 projects. The report draws on data collected in all four years of the ESPIRS as well as pretest and posttest data for 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 collected from the 18 EDS projects. Findings include the following: (1) While Even Start children and parents made gains on literacy assessments and other measures, children and parents in the 18 programs did not gain more than those in the control group, about one-third of whom received early childhood education or adult education services; (2) compared to Head Start, Even Start parents are much less likely to have a high school diploma, and Even Start families have substantially lower household income; (3) Even Start children and parents made small gains on literacy measures and scored low compared to national norms when they left the program; (4) families do not take full advantage of the services offered by Even start projects, participating in a small amount of instruction relative to their needs and program goals; (5) while early childhood classroom experiences provided by the EDS projects were of overall good quality, there was not sufficient emphasis on language acquisition and reasoning to produce measurable impacts and hence to achieve legislative outcomes; and (6) the extent to which parents and children participated in literacy services is related to child outcomes. (Contains 67 references.) (HTH)

The tribal Even Start program is one of the set-aside components of the U.S. Department of Education's Even Start Family Literacy Program. Even Start combines adult literacy, early childhood education, and parenting education services for parents eligible for adult education and their children from birth to age 7. In 1994-95, nine Indian tribes and tribal organizations received direct federal grants to administer Even Start Projects. This report examines three of the projects: those administered by the Makah Tribe (Washington), the Cherokee Nation (Oklahoma), and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe (Arizona). The following is covered for each project: community characteristics, recruitment of families, program staff, content and delivery of Even Start services, coordination of service components, and evaluation and the Even Start Information System (ESIS). The three projects each serve 20-27 families in primarily rural areas. Many core services are delivered during home visits. This may be the preferred mode of delivery for tribal projects, due to expansive catchment areas and lack of public transportation, and because participants and staff are often previously acquainted. Major issues and challenges confronting tribal projects are related to preserving tribal culture, encouraging parent involvement, poverty, unemployment, lack of facilities, and lack of culturally relevant materials. Appendix includes topic and observation guides for site visits. (Author/SV)

In fall 1994, 14 state Migrant Education Programs were receiving direct federal grants to administer Migrant Even Start projects. These projects provide migrant families with an integrated program of early childhood education, adult education, and parenting education. As part of the national evaluation of the Even Start Family Literacy Program, this report describes three Migrant Even Start projects, their evaluation activities and concerns, and the special challenges that they face. The projects are located in Yuma, Arizona; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; and Berlin and Cambria, Wisconsin. Project descriptions cover program structure and administration, characteristics of the community served, family recruitment, content and delivery of Even Start services, staff, coordination of service components, participation and followup strategies, evaluation and the Even Start Information System (ESIS), and conclusions. Major challenges confronting Migrant Even Start projects include hiring qualified staff who are bilingual, bicultural, and knowledgeable about the migrant lifestyle; adapting service delivery to family schedules; collaborating with other community migrant services; providing continuity of services between sites; providing support services; dealing with migrant families' isolation in the community; and finding quality materials written in Spanish. In comparison to Even Start projects nationally, Migrant Even Start projects are unique in participant characteristics, families' strong commitment to the project, strong staff commitment and responsiveness, scheduling of services, and staffing patterns. Recommendations include increasing interproject collaboration and technical assistance. Contains 20 references and a topic guide for site visits. (SV)

This report presents findings from a national survey of secondary and postsecondary institutions offering vocational education that sought to determine state and local response to the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act. The study involved qualitative case studies of state and local programs as well as a national survey of local vocational providers designed to gather information about current vocational education practices. Containing 83 tables and graphs, the report includes information in the following areas: (1) description of districts and institutions offering vocational education; (2) amount of Perkins' dollars spent in 1986-87; (3) how Perkins' funds are spent by districts and institutions; (4) supplemental services for handicapped and disadvantaged secondary students; (5) changes in student enrollments in vocational education 1982-83 to 1986-87; (6) changes in vocational courses 1982-83 to 1986-87; and (7) vocational education and the Job Training Partnership Act. An introductory overview summarizes results in these seven areas of research. The survey instruments are appended. (KC)

Used the Kindergarten Performance Profile to analyze the relationship of classroom skills in the fall and spring of kindergarten to second-grade achievement. Results indicated kindergarten work skills were significantly related to achievement for both boys and girls. Kindergarten social skills were related to achievement scores for girls only. (JAC)

A study obtained information about implementation and impact of competency-based vocational education (CBVE) in Massachusetts secondary schools. Information was collected from teachers, administrators, Division of Occupational Education staff, the State Leadership Team, and staff at the Massachusetts Vocational Curriculum Resource Center. Findings indicated that teachers from two or more districts shared the writing of each CBVE learning guide. A review of the learning guides showed that they could benefit from updating, clearer writing, and correction of grammatical errors. Specific recommendations were provision of information specific to the context and purpose of tasks in task introductions and instruction sheets; specification of standards for mastery; better quality diagrams and illustrations; and revision of knowledge tests and student self-checks to meet standards. The learning guides were used as student instructional materials, teacher references, and resources for district-level curriculum development. Factors associated with CBVE implementation were: a "key player" enthusiastic about CBVE and knowledgeable about implementation; new teachers looking for curriculum ideas; administrative interest in program improvement; and technical assistance. Teacher concerns about use of CBVE learning guides focused on vocational students' poor reading skills and active learning style, teacher role, and appropriateness in shop and related classes. (Instruments are appended.) (YLB)