This article proposes a methodology for a cost-benefit analysis of quality circles. The proposed system is based on the accountability principle, and it is conducted at three levels: project, circles, and the entire quality circle system. Flowcharts are included. (Author/CT)

Up to six years of data (the current year and the five previous years where available) are presented in Louisiana's District Composite Reports. Each year, this report is updated by adding the most current year?s data and deleting the data that are more than six years old. Incorporating longitudinal data in the District Composite Report enables…

Using an ex post facto analysis of outcomes data, this paper tracks the academic performances of developmental and non-developmental students and examines the effects that developmental courses have on subsequent academic progress leading up to graduation. Three-year data on developmental students and graduates were analyzed to discern the…

Teachers' conceptions of assessment can be understood in terms of their agreement or disagreement with four purposes to which assessment may be put, specifically, (a) improvement of teaching and learning, (b) school accountability, (c) student accountability, or (d) treating assessment as irrelevant. A 50-item Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment…

Americans both care about their schools and want them to improve. Though adults give the nation's public schools only mediocre grades, they are willing to invest more money in public education and they are reasonably confident that doing so will improve student learning. They are also open to a host of school reforms ranging from high-stakes…

Charged to reconsider what indicators would capture and convey important truths about education and learning, the National Center for Education Statistics' Special Study Panel on Education Indicators wrote a 1991 report that rejected most conventional notions of indicators. Instead, they focused on learner outcomes, institutional quality, school…

First-year veterinary medicine students were surveyed during the first and last week of class to determine if student ratings of instructors are free of bias from generalized attitudes. The tabulated results indicate that the students were not biased by preconceived opinions of instructors. (BH)

Shrinking state funding and pressure for accountability are forcing institutions of higher education to overhaul their missions, take stock of their spending, and inevitably, reorganize themselves as they prepare for an increasingly competitive college market. Data on average state tuition increase, and appropriations to higher education are…

Solving higher education's budget dilemma is not just a matter of revenue acquisition or cost reduction. It requires demonstrating to the American people and their elected representatives that higher education's accomplishments warrant its high price. Accountability and performance measurement are important tools for justifying acquisition and…

Surveys of Australian college faculty, conducted in 1977 and 1993, provide data for tracing trends in workload. While time devoted to teaching and research have remained stable, changes at the margins of academic workload are considerable. These tasks are largely generated by demands of institutional competition, accountability, and quality…

The status of higher education in Maryland in 1975 and 1985 is compared, with attention to enrollments, student qualifications, programs, faculty, funding, quality, accountability, and the role of higher education in society. Data on opening fall 1984 enrollments and changes from 1983 are provided for Maryland community colleges, state colleges…