The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) believes that colleges and universities should play a central role in bringing the march to education reform to a successful conclusion. In this position paper, the Federation outlines a program to tackle the issues of standards, teaching, and accountability in education. For school reform to work, higher…

Outlines the author's participation in several programs designed to effect change in educational institutions. Observations regarding school decentralization, community participation, and staff development programs are presented. (APM)

Whether there are reasonable concerns about liberty raised by standards-driven educational reform is explored, focusing on students' interests in autonomy and authenticity, academic freedom, and pluralism. A view of standards and accountability that is narrowly focused on clear public interests is crucial for educational reform. (SLD)

Information systems are becoming more than computer systems, with new equipment and techniques combining with data processing to form a new field called information technology. The emerging discipline of systems engineering is discussed along with nine systems engineering techniques. An organization chart of an information services department is…

This document, which highlights the efforts of the National Institute for Literacy to pilot the development of state literacy accountability systems in four states, outlines the components, operation, and importance of state accountability systems and discusses considerations in developing a systems approach to planning and implementing a quality…

To assist in the redesign of accountability systems, the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) and the Center for Research on Evaluation, Student Standards, and Testing (CRESST) sought to assemble knowledge from new research on emerging accountability systems. A book, "Redesigning Accountability Systems for Education," edited by Susan…

Assessments should improve performance by providing usable feedback, and should not merely audit it. Problems with educational accountability policies stem from a flawed view of student assessment. Intellectual excellence cannot be obtained via one-time mandated tests composed of proxies for real challenges. Common standards should be developed…

School organizations must become responsive and flexible to address rapidly changing social, economic, and demographic conditions. Reform attempts to date have not worked because they were layered on old structures and perceptions in a fragmented, piecemeal fashion. The fundamental transformation of education that is required demands a paradigm…

The federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau has launched a five-year initiative that will support state efforts to build comprehensive early childhood service systems. This initiative--the State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Initiative (SECCS)--provides two year planning grants followed by three year implementation grants to the 50 state…