Communities across the country are grappling with different approaches to improving their schools. Introducing or expanding charter schools is one of the approaches that states and school districts have considered or implemented. Charter schools serve more than 5 percent of public school students nationwide and make up close to 7 percent of all…

Site visits are one of the means the Department of Education uses to document each charter school's performance and progress. These visits usually take place during the second and third years of the charter. The Charter School Office, however, reserves the right to conduct visits at other times when deemed necessary. The primary purposes of a site…

Developed to assist librarians in the measurement and evaluation of the library's ability to provide services, this guide suggests a number of evaluation techniques that may be used once the reasons for a study have been clearly determined and locally peculiar conditions have been taken into account. The first section explains methods for…

Basic information about each of 50 accrediting bodies that have been evaluated by the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation (COPA) and recognized as meeting acceptable levels of quality and performance is provided. Information was supplied by the individual accrediting bodies, who were asked to update and verify the accuracy of information from…

The guidelines presented are intended to stimulate institutional self-assessment, evaluation, and possible policy actions by college and university presidents, chief academic officers, and other academic officers not responsible for day-to-day administration of sponsored research programs. Officers of nonprofit research organizations may also find…

Institutional effectiveness is "the process of articulating the mission, setting goals, and using data to form assessments in an ongoing cycle of goal setting and planning" (Grossman & Duncan, 1989). This definition encapsulates the intent of the ACICS criteria and expectations for the Institutional Effectiveness Plan (IEP) of accredited…

Recommends establishing review processes at both school building and classroom level, and provides checklists for such evaluations. Both together provide a basis for determining the school's handling of equity issues. Also recommends training all school staff with respect to their legal responsibilities. (LHW)

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (P.L. 93-112), as amended (P.L. 93- 516), mandates equal opportunity for qualified handicapped persons in education programs, and activities of all recipients of federal financial assistance. Section 504 is a civil rights statute that prohibits descrimination on the basis of handicap, obligates…

This guide for adults who are seeking external degrees offers guidance for selecting such a program and a listing of 140 accredited programs. The five chapters of part 1 provide an introduction to external degree opportunities. Chapter 1 briefly considers the multiple ways in which today's adults can continue their education. Chapter 2 explains…

The mattering scales are designed to assess the perceptions of adult learners about their educational environment. They answer these questions: Do I feel I matter to the institution? and Do I feel noticed, appreciated, welcomed? To determine the extent to which adult learners feel they matter, five scales are designed to assess their perceptions…

This manual of standards for juvenile training schools and services contains 487 American Correctional Association standards for the accreditation of juvenile training schools (youth development centers, villages, correction centers, treatment centers, service centers, homes for boys and girls, camps, and ranches). Standards presented are…