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Reports on the quality of public education in the state of Rhode Island. Socioeconomic challenges; Lack of funds for educational programs; Student achievement based on National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores; Quality of teaching; Standards and assessments; School climate; Resources; Vital statistics of the state; Children in poverty; Single parent families.

Discusses the state of urban public education in Rhode Island. Disparities between resources and student needs; Literacy program targeting early grades; Changes in the state aid formula; Providence school district; Accountability measures. INSET: State policy update..

Rhode Island's top education official wants to extend the school day as a way to help close the achievement gap between students in low-income communities and their more affluent peers, as of January 28, 2004. The proposal by Commissioner of Education Peter McWalters to raise the statewide minimum school day for students to seven hours in primary and secondary schools was slated for debate at a series of public hearings starting this week. In upper-income Barring-ton, for example, hours each day, while in Providence, the state's biggest and poorest district the elementary school day. The plan has prompted skepticism among teachers' groups and district leaders.

Focuses on the campaign to give access to child-care services for low-income parents in Rhode Island. Emphasis on the assistance given by Starting Right initiative to families; Plan for pilot testing of a draft of standards using Head Start guideline as reference; Discussion of proposals to improve educational system in the State.

Evaluates the progress of education reform in Rhode Island. Approach to educational accountability; Studies on the test scores of students as compared to state standards; Purpose of the state's School Accountability for Learning and Teaching program; Policies to raise teaching quality; State funding of educational programs.

Provides information about the move made by Rhode Island's officials to gauge the student performance. Type of questions that were released; Other purpose of the survey campaign; Other American states that practice student assessments. INSET: A sampling of questions from Rhode Island's SALT survey.

The article describes a web-based archive of lesson plans, student work, and videos showing effective teaching practices, all of which are aligned to Rhode Island's academic standards. Rhode Island Department of Education's director of instruction, Diane Schaefer, explains that the content is not meant to dictate what to do and when, but rather to offer ideas on how to implement the curriculum and to support teaching and learning effectively.

The article reports on the use of digital portfolios within U.S. school systems. The objective was for the schools to assess students' proficiency using alternative methods. Tests and exams have been the norm for student progress in most U.S. schools. Many of the school districts in the state of Rhode Island have implemented individualized student digital portfolios in place of standardized testing. Students' problem solving and reasoning skills are now being assessed in more creative methods.

The article discusses policy changes requested by Rhode Island governor Donald L. Carcieri to further boost improvements in student performance. His plan would focus on school finance, teacher quality and compensation, and urban schools. Carcieri says the state needs an updated system to evaluate educators, reward good performance, and provide professional support. He will partner with the University of Rhode Island and lift a moratorium on charter schools.

The article focuses on the progress of Hope High School in Rhode Island. Nicholas C. Donohue was appointed as "special master" of the school's overhaul and believes that student attendance and the facilities of the building still need to be addressed. Donohue left the position to become the president and chief executive officer of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation.

The article reports that Rhode Island is limiting spending by local school districts. School districts will receive an increase of 4.8% in funding for local operations. A spending limiting measure was passed; it will prevent schools from asking for more than a 4% increase in budget each year by 2013. Another law provides tax credits to Rhode Island companies that give scholarship funds for private elementary and secondary schooling.

This article reports that Rhode Island lawmakers are pumping more dollars through formulas meant to reduce inequities in school spending across the state. Under a $3.1 billion state budget hammered out in 2005's session, total state aid to districts increases from $764 million in fiscal 2005 to $798 million in fiscal 2006, a 4.4 percent difference. Those figures include money for construction aid and teacher retirement. Overall state K-12 spending, including the state department of education's budget, money for the state-operated school for the deaf, and other categories of spending, is slated to increase by 5 percent to $837 million in fiscal 2006.

The article reports that State funding allocated specifically for educational technology: 3.4 million dollar. Rhode Island continues to stress professional development in its push to infuse technology into its classrooms. Another, more general track is designed to meet more varied interests. For example, a group of foreign-language teachers has learned how to use computers to let their students communicate with people in other countries. The state pays for the professional-development efforts through 1.5 million dollar in its annual grant from the federal Enhancing Education Through Technology program, which is part of the No Child Left Behind law.

This article reports that a study of teachers' union contracts in Rhode Island contends that collective bargaining agreements for teachers represent one of the most formidable barriers to better schools. The report, produced by the Education Partnership, a Providence-based group backed by local business leaders, reviews contract provisions in 10 Rhode Island districts and concludes that they drive up costs and constrain the work of educators. It cites generous health-care benefits and sick leave policies.

The article focuses on a challenge made by Governor Donald L. Carcieri to make Rhode Island students "the best in the nation in math and science." The Republican said in his January 18 speech that he would form a commission to study the state's performance in those subjects and recommend strategies for improvement. The effort builds on earlier work by Carcieri, who has already earmarked money to the state education department to help local educators in honing their teaching skills in mathematics. Carcieri further called for lifting a moratorium on the approval of new charter schools, which Rhode Island lawmakers passed in their 2004 session.

After months of debate, Rhode Island policymakers have approved a plan to lengthen the instructional day for students. The state board of regents for elementary and secondary education voted 8-2 on June 10, 2004 to mandate that all students receive a daily average of at least 5½ hours of instruction. The policy, which differs somewhat from a plan offered by Commissioner of Education Peter Me Walters this past winter, will take effect statewide in the 2007-08 school year. Low-performing districts identified for state intervention, however, must meet the requirement by 2005-06.

In his second State of the State Address, Governor Donald L. Carcieri offered new initiatives to expand public school options for Rhode Island families and improve the skills of the state's educators. Calling charter schools a great success story, the Republican proposed lifting the state's cap on the number of such schools. The governor also pledged $1.6 million in special state funds to help regular public high schools in Providence next year. Carcieri reiterated plans unveiled the previous week to form a team of specialists in mathematics at the state education department to work with classroom teachers to improve their instruction.

In passing a state spending plan for fiscal 2004 that includes $778 million for precollegiate education, Rhode Island lawmakers this summer ignored many cost-savings ideas pitched by Governor Donald L. Carcieri. The budget will send $5.7 million compared with $4 million in fiscal 2003 to the state's Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center, which runs urban high schools that stress individualized instruction and project-based learning. Lawmakers also added $600,000 to the $500,000 budgeted last year for efforts by the Rhode Island education department to provide technical support for low-performing schools.

Reports on the plan of Rhode Island state board of regents for elementary and secondary education to personalize state's high school education system. Deadline by which schools must implement their education strategies; Proposal to divide schools into small units; Importance of identifying students in early grades who need special assistance; Concern over expenses related with high school restructuring.

Offers a look at Rhode Island Governor Lincoln C. Almond's policy for educational spending. Proposal for a raise in spending for primary and secondary education; Rise in state-aid programs for districts serving high percentages of poor children; Recommendation of special tax measures to help head off a projected state-budget shortfall.

Reports the improvement of programs for child-care subsidies in Rhode Island. Creation of an initiative called 'Starting RIght'; Proposals in raising income eligibility for the subsidy; Grants for child care networks.

Presents an overview of education in Rhode Island, current as of May 2001. State officials' decision to base its technology agenda on the idea of equal opportunity; Enrollment figures for prekindergarten through grade 12; Percent of children in poverty in 1998; Percent of minority students in 1999; Students per instructional computer; E-rate funding through March 6, 2001.

Highlights Rhode Island Governor Lincoln C. Almond's educational policy in his State of the State Address. Government policy on educational appropriation for full-day kindergarten in Rhode Island; Views on the standard for teachers and teaching in the state; Dispute over funding for school districts in the state.

Reports that Rhode Island has been called to court to defend the way it dispenses school aid. Arguments from middle-income, suburban cities and towns on the state's attempts to resolve funding inequities across Rhode Island; Message sent by education officials and other policymakers regarding the lawsuit; Comments from James P. Marusak, the coordinating counsel for the plaintiffs.

Reports that poor results of a standardized test in mathematics in Rhode Island have contradicted long-held public views on elementary school students' performance in the subject. Percentage of students who failed to meet the state standard; Low percentage in the test of concepts and problem-solving; Low scores as short-term price for implementing a rigorous new test.

Reports on a parent-teacher conference sponsored by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform in Rhode Island in May 1997 to discuss the state's school reform initiatives. Focus on Rhode Island's education policies and student performance; Low ranking of Rhode Island among all states in terms of allocating resources for education; Role of parents in the education of children.

Discloses a move by lawmakers in Rhode Island, New York to direct state aid to urban districts in expectation of improved student performance and accounting of how schools spend their money. Provisions under measure; Amount Rhode Island schools will receive once the plan is approved; Criticism over school funding practices since 1991.

Reports on the granting of laptop computers by the Rhode Island Foundation to Rhode Island public school teachers for the enhancement of their skills. Amount of the donation; Includes donation from Microsoft Corp.; Training of teachers in computers.

Reports on the promise made by Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Almond to address the inequities in the state's school funding system. Need for changes in the current funding formula.

Reports on criticisms against Rhode Island's 1995 state law allowing charter schools. Exclusion of flexibility which the schools need to be different from public schools; Concerns about student dropouts in Woonsocket, Rhode Island; School aid to students.

Reports on developments related to Rhode Island state funding for education. Call for analysis of results of investment; Local property taxes.

Reports that Governor Lincoln C. Almond of Rhode Island pledged state efforts on teacher training, child care and all day kindergarten in the upbeat election. Child care services as the most ambitious initiatives of Gov. Almond; Budget for education proposed by Gov. Almond.