This document records the written and oral testimony of witnesses at a hearing on the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. The act has three main components: (1) to provide grants to states and local schools for comprehensive educational reform; (2) to promote the establishment of voluntary national education standards to assist states and local schools in their reform efforts; and (3) to establish a national board bringing together business, labor, and education to promote the development of voluntary occupational skills standards. Witnesses included representatives of education associations, business associations, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Education. Witnesses generally favored the legislation, although they offered differing interpretations and differing scenarios for carrying out parts of the act. Some witnesses stressed the need to create training paths for noncollege-bound students, and others asked that it be determined exactly what students in other countries are learning that U.S. students are not in order to improve standards of education. Witnesses stressed the need to improve mathematics skills and computer skills for all graduates. They also asked the question, "Training for what?" in that job training must be predicated on learning what skills employers want and training students in such skills. (KC)

These Congressional hearings contain testimony pertinent to passage of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1993, which is a bill designed to create a national framework within which states and localities can develop effective systems for offering U.S. youths access to performance-based education and training programs that will in turn prepare them for a first job in a high-skill, high-wage career and increase their opportunities for further education. The following are among the agencies and organizations whose representatives provided testimony at the hearings: Manpower Demonstration Corporation, National Federation of Teachers, New England Deaconess Hospital, Jobs for the Future, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Education, Center for Law and Education, National Youth Employment Coalition, Wider Opportunities for Women, American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations, Hurley Hospital, American Vocational Association, National Education Association, Sullivan College, Louisville Chamber of Commerce, Alternative Schools Network, Association for Community Based Education, American Occupational Therapy Association, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, Jobs for Youth, American Legal Defense and Education Fund, National Association for Bilingual Education, National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems, National Displaced Homemakers Network, National Urban Coalition, Women's Legal Defense Fund, and National Tooling and Machining Association. The complete text of the bill is included. (MN)

February issue includes Appendix entitled Directory of United States Government periodicals and subscription publications; September issue includes List of depository libraries; June and December issues include semiannual index

These hearings transcripts record testimony given in Vancouver, Washington, on reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Ideas were solicited on ways the federal government could support local partnerships between the business and education communities. Prepared statements and transcripts of testimony are presented for the following individuals and organizations: (1) Randy Dorn, State Representative and Chair of the Washington State House Education Committee; (2) the director of Workforce Education and Agency Relations for the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, Olympia, Washington; (3) the director of the Hough Foundation; (4) the chair of Hewlett-Packard's K-12 Steering Committee; (5) the vice-president and editor of "The Columbian"; (6) the Vancouver School District Superintendent of Schools; (7) the manager of Vocational, Technical, and Career Education in the Evergreen School District, Vancouver; (8) a Vancouver mathematics teacher; (9) the president of the Battle Ground School Board; (10) the state executive director of the Citizen's Alliance of Washington; and (11) the resource coordinator for Vocational Education, Vancouver School District. The report concludes with a summary statement describing six competencies employers want future employees to demonstrate: work ethic, character history, people to people skills, thinking skills, communication skills, and mathematical skills. (SM)

These hearing transcripts present testimony concerning the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Much of the testimony was from members of congress, educators, and representatives of education organizations concerning the efficacy of specific programs and activities funded by the Act, particularly those items that they would like to see expanded or improved. Testimony was heard from: (1) Representatives Robert E. Andrews, Peter Hoagland, Donald M. Payne, Terry Everett, and Lynn C. Woolsey; (2) the director of the National Urban Alliance for Effective Schools; (3) the executive director of the Main Line Project Learning, Brookline School, Havertown, Pennsylvania; (4) a former congressman; (5) four school superintendents; (6) a program manager from the Pennsylvania Department of Education; (7) a senior researcher from SRI International; (8) two elementary school principals; (9) the dean of Montclair State College's School of Professional Studies; (10) three school district officials; (11) the president of the National Association of Migrant Education; (12) an official of the National Association of State Directors of Migrant Education; (13) an education consultant; and (14) the president of the American Federation of Teachers. (MDM)

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