Educators use informal theories and assumptions to guide their actions, yet often fail to evaluate these beliefs. This digest examines the nature and purpose of educational-indicator systems and discusses the design of report cards by which schools can inform the public of their performance. An indicator is any statistic that casts light on the…

Educators use informal theories and assumptions to guide their actions, yet often fail to evaluate these beliefs. This ERIC Digest in Spanish examines the nature and purpose of educational-indicator systems and discusses the design of report cards by which schools can inform the public of their performance. An indicator is any statistic that casts…

The urgent need to improve big city schools has been a powerful incentive to adopt accountability systems. The following types of accountability systems may exist alongside each other: (1) political; (2) legal; (3) bureaucratic; (4) professional; and (5) market. Bureaucratic accountability is a "top down" system that holds teachers…

Some steps to identify an initial set of indicators and to develop alternative indicator systems are outlined for educational evaluation and illustrated through the example of a National Science Foundation (NSF) study of mathematics and science education. The first step is to conceptualize potential indicators to specify a comprehensive monitoring…

Educational indicator systems are similar to indicator systems used to monitor the economy, the criminal justice system, or other social systems. Governments recognize the value of statistics that provide current information and make trend analysis and forecasts possible. Education statistics will qualify as indicators only if they serve as…