This reaction paper presented at a conference on compensatory education begins with reviews of three studies prepared for the program and staffing session of the conference and dealing respectively with student-to-instructor ratios, instructional setting, and summer programs. The paper then presents the view that huge gains in achievement will not…

In 1981, when Chapter 1 replaced Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I and with the advent of the effective schools movement, the Hawaii state administrators of Chapter 1 made a long term commitment to program improvement, especially in the area of instruction and quality delivery of services to the target students. In this program…

Over time, compensatory education has become an increasingly institutionalized and effective Federal program, characterized by the following: (1) cooperation; (2) mutual accommodation on the part of national, state, and local officials; (3) ready acquiescence to Federal guidelines at the state and local level; and (4) shared responsibility among…

Program improvement activities can be classified into four categories based on the source of the impetus and the locus of the change agent: systematic, symbolic, opportunistic, and pragmatic. This paper (1) describes the various approaches to implementing Chapter 1 program improvement activities at the state and local district levels in 13 western…

Using data from a national study of Chapter 1 implementation, this study describes the Chapter 1 teaching force. Over the 1991-92 school year, surveys were completed by a nationally representative sample of Chapter 1 teachers and aides, and regular classroom teachers in elementary schools, middle schools, and secondary schools. This study focuses…

This paper describes: the development and implementation of Schoolwide Projects (SWPs) in the School District of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania); evaluation models permitted by Chapter 1 regulation and policy; ways these models were used in Philadelphia and results that were obtained; and approaches that are sensitive to the effects of SWPs. The…

A cost effectiveness study by the Austin (Texas) Independent School District of its elementary compensatory reading programs, namely, the Chapter 1 Reading Improvement Program (Chapter 1 Regular) and Schoolwide Projects (SWP), found that the Schoolwide Projects cost two to three times as much to achieve the same gains in student achievement as did…

This paper reviews research on effective pull-out programs for elementary students who are at risk for school failure. The emphasis is on programs that can be readily replicated by schools other than those that developed them. The focus is on programs provided to students who have been identified as in need of remedial services which are…

The papers presented at this conference review current research on effective educational practices for low-achieving students and identify those that might be applied to programs funded under Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981. A function assumed by several conference participants was to act as reactor to papers…

The early intervention strategies of the Wichita (Kansas) Public Schools Education Consolidation and Improvement Act Chapter 1 Prekindergarten Program made a difference in the later academic achievement of participants. The Prekindergarten program serves educationally and developmentally disadvantaged 3- and 4-year olds residing in low-income…

The use of portfolio assessment in the Dallas (Texas) Independent School District and the future of portfolio assessment are discussed. A literature review is followed by a description of the development process that preceded the Chapter 1 portfolio assessment of the Dallas schools. Portfolio results are then compared to the standardized measures…

Valid indicators for a school district's Chapter 1 program that would help districts make decisions and shape policy are defined and explored. The March 1988 report of the School District of Philadelphia's Chapter 1 task force proposed a 2-year phase-in of a totally restructured Chapter 1 program for the Philadelphia schools. The definition of…