This newsletter includes six articles that examine key issues facing public schools and communities related to accountability, bilingual education, immigrant education, school finance, and school choice. In addressing these issues, articles focus on the importance of community involvement and input in local school reform efforts aimed at achieving…

The view that peer review and faculty self-government are detrimental is expressed. Peer review, a procedure in which the conduct of faculty members is subject to review by other faculty members, is used primarily in personnel and research decisions (e.g., tenure, promotion, and/or salary increases, and to assess grant or contract proposals).…

During five meetings conducted in different states by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) to gain insight into the status of 55 parent involvement programs from their organizers and implementors, parental involvement in the secondary education level repeatedly emerged as a shared concern. Following the meetings SEDL…

Since 1990, a long-term study has been following the implementation of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) in 21 schools in 4 rural school districts. This publication summarizes study findings through 1995. Findings across KERA strands suggest that reform would have been unlikely without KERA's extra funding, used to increase teacher…

This report addresses issues concerned with reporting educational results for students with disabilities, identifies principles to guide reporting practices, and offers recommendations. The report notes that there are many purposes for reporting and that reporting information on students with disabilities is important because it ensures that they…

School-based management (SBM), the decentralization of decision-making authority to the school site, comes in many variations. However, all forms of SBM require a rethinking of how and where budgeting, curriculum, and personnel decisions are made. This bulletin provides an overview of what SBM is and how it is implemented by summarizing some of…

In response to new provisions in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), this issue describes the promising special education research that is helping all students participate successfully in large-scale testing programs. The first article, "State-Wide Assessment Programs," discusses the new provisions in IDEA that…

This report examines issues concerning the participation of students with disabilities in state and district assessments and offers principles and recommendations for increasing their participation. This report suggests that 85 percent of students with disabilities could participate either in the regular assessments or by using accommodations and…

In spite of widespread concerns about low academic achievement nationally, parents generally have expressed satisfaction with their own children's achievement and schools, largely because their children's grades suggest that they are doing well. This report examines what student grades tell about achievement through the use of data from the…

This issue focuses on how special education fits into standards-based reform and contains the following featured articles: (1) A New Vision for Special Education Accountability (Martha L. Thurlow and Jane L. Krentz) charts the change in special education accountability as it moves from the old focus on Individualized Education Program teams; (2)…