An introduction to general systems theory and an overview of vocabulary and concepts are presented to introduce school business officials to systems thinking and to foster its use as an analytical tool. The theory is then used to analyze a sample problem: planning changes to a district's administrative computer system. (eight references) (MLF)

The Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) Chapter 2 Evaluation Unit provides program evaluation and evaluation technical services for designated ECIA Chapter 2 projects in the District of Columbia Public Schools. This report examines the status of inputs, processes, and outcomes, intended and observed, of the Evaluation Unit during…

Strategic planning, accountability, and restructuring efforts often exacerbate targeted problems because the accurate information required for success is unavailable. This document offers a model monitoring system for utilizing important information by schools and districts. Part 1, "Basic Assumptions About Schools and Districts," explores how…

With the enactment of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) of 1981, private, nonprofit schools were rendered eligible to participate on an equitable basis in federally funded school programs. During the 1982-83 school year (the first year of ECIA Chapter 2) 44 private, nonprofit schools in the District of Columbia elected to…

Explores the difficulty of evaluating school effectiveness, distinguishing between school effectiveness and school efficiency. Introduces seven evaluation models, and discusses the difficulty of integrating these models. Develops a dynamic model which reconceptualizes school effectiveness and combines characteristics of the integrated and…

The second of two related pamphlets, this guide describes how to design an outcome study and outlines procedures for collecting outcome data. After an introduction that delineates the purpose of the two-part series, the pamphlet is divided into four major sections. The first section explains how to select a cost-outcome analysis. The next three…

This paper provides a program evaluation of the K-12 social science program in the Des Moines (Iowa) public schools. The program attempts to provide a balance between American and World Studies, History and Current Issues. It emphasizes multicultural and non-sexist learnings and includes the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to survive in…

Discusses the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) research concerning the identification of indicators of service efforts and service accomplishments. The GASB has proposed that financial reports should not only be useful in assessing accountability, but they should also assist in making economic, social, and political decisions. (six…

The first of two related pamphlets, this guide provides information on how to conduct cost-outcome analyses, with an emphasis on measuring costs. After an introduction that delineates the purpose of the two-part series, the pamphlet is divided into six major sections. The first section, "definitions and rationale," introduces…

Based on a doctoral dissertation that involved a study of the nation's 100 most successful school computer systems, this report summarizes the study's purpose, scope, methodology, resultant model, general observations, and future implications. The model is divided into two major sections: (1) strategic planning activities, focusing on computer…

The first part of this paper discusses two principal forms elaborated upon in previous literature for describing the relation between per pupil operating costs and school enrollment size. The first of these forms indicates that average per pupil costs decline up to a point as enrollment increases, reach a minimum, and then rise with further school…