New grant funds from the U.S. Department of Education are intended to assist states in developing assessments under the No Child Left Behind Act.
U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced on February 12 that the $17 million in grants will help improve the quality of assessment instruments and systems used by states to measure the achievement of all students?especially students with disabilities and those with limited English proficiency.
Paige notes that the department is providing substantial funding to cover the costs of testing because of the importance of the state assessments to gauge state, school district, school and student progress toward state standards.
Last summer, the Education Department provided $370 million in state assessment formula grants to all state education agencies, and President Bush has requested $387 million for assessments for Fiscal Year 2003 and $390 million for Fiscal Year 2004. The new $17 million in grants are funded from the Department of Education?s FY 2002 budget.
"These proposals reflect states? serious and substantive attention to complex assessment issues," says Paige. "Through these grants, and the $370 million in grants awarded this summer, the department is providing substantial financial support for important assessment projects."
The grants are all going to consortia of state education agencies (SEAs) and other organizations, but individual SEAs were also eligible to apply. Each consortium will collaborate with institutions of higher education, research institutions or other organizations.
Four of the projects address the assessment of English proficiency, two focus on appropriate test design and accommodations for LEP students, one project examines appropriate accommodations for special education students, one aims to improve the technical quality of alternate assessments for students with severe disabilities, and one project will enhance state capacity to evaluate and document the alignment between state standards and state assessments.
According to the Education Department, the grants also enable consortia of states or individual states to:
- Measure student achievement using multiple measures of student academic achievement from multiple sources.
- Chart student progress over time.
- Evaluate student academic achievement through the development of comprehensive academic assessment instruments, such as performance- and technology-based academic assessment.
For a list of the projects, their descriptions, the collaborating states and groups, and the grant amounts, visit http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/02-2003/02122003a.html. For more information about the grant program, visit http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SASA/eag.html.
As it prepared to enter its busy spring season?and with plans to hire approximately 60,000 seasonal workers nationally?The Home Depot joined with the U.S. Department of Labor to launch National Hiring Partnership Week, February 10-14, 2003. Home Depot estimates that more than 50 percent of these seasonal hires will convert to regular full- or part-time jobs.
According to the Department of Labor, National Hiring Partnership Week is an opportunity to strengthen the working relationship between local Home Depot stores and the public sector workforce system through the One Stop Career Centers. The One Stop Career Centers?of which there are 1,900 nationwide?assist employers with recruitment, training and retention of skilled workers. They also assist job seekers in qualifying and securing good jobs.
Executive Vice President of Human Resources for The Home Depot Dennis Donovan says, "As part of our ongoing program, thousands of quality applicants have been referred by the One Stop Career Centers and hired by Home Depot stores."
Emily Stover DeRocco, the U.S. Department of Labor?s Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, notes that, although there are signs of the beginning of an economic recovery, there are still not enough jobs being created fast enough for all of the unemployed workers. But she says that, "By working together with Home Depot, we are helping job seekers find good paying jobs with career pathways."
Home Depot human resource managers met with local One Stop Career Centers?either at the centers or at the local stores?to find candidates for both entry-level and skilled positions.
For more information, or to locate the nearest One Stop Career Center, call 1-877-US2-JOBS, or visit
www.servicelocator.org.
The National Council for Agricultural Employers (NCAE) is partnering with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in YouthRules!, a public awareness campaign that was launched by U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao in May 2002 to help ensure safe and rewarding work experiences for young workers.
"I am delighted that NCAE has agreed to join our YouthRules! team," says Tammy D. McCutchen, administrator of the Department of Labor?s Wage and Hour Division. "Our partnership with NCAE will enable us to educate parents, employers and young workers in this important sector about the resources and protections that exist to ensure that teens have positive work experiences on farms across the country."
Through the new partnership, the National Council for Agricultural Employers joins other national associations, advocacy groups and state governments that have agreed to partner with the Labor Department to publish information about youth employment.
For more information about YouthRules!, visit www.youthrules.dol.gov. For more information about the laws administered by the DOL Wage and Hour Division, visit www.wagehour.dol.gov.
