Brief summaries are offered for various childhood intervention programs. The expected major differences between curricula were not obtained. It is suggested that the basic issues in successful programing relate to the quality of program implementation rather than the philosophy of curriculum selected. (Author/GK)

The issue of the perceived success of human services program evaluations is the specific focus of this paper. Five areas that affect the potential for producing effective program evaluation form a framework for discussing factors related to perceived success. The areas include inappropriate conceptualization of what an evaluation can accomplish,…

To assure accountability to educational policy developed by elected and appointed leaders, agencies and organizations must adopt high quality evaluation designs tailored to meet three basic tenets: (1) different processes for policy formation and demonstration of accountability; (2) clear accountability expectations built into policies; (3)…

Reviewing the many possible outcomes (intended and unintended) of vocational education programs, the author posits four tests for evaluation criteria: appropriateness, importance, feasibility, and usefulness. He discusses policy implications of the lack of consensus over the particular outcomes for which vocational education should be accountable.…

Indicates that nurses' voices are not heeded in national policy and health care decisions, even though nurses know as much about cost/quality relationships as any health care professionals. (Author)

While policy analysis is currently the most popular research strategy for educational administration, it is more effective when used in conjunction with program evaluation. The relationship between these methods is illustrated by examining alternative research designs for a hypothetical school drug abuse program. (BS)

This overview of the problem of linking testing and instruction describes two general policy areas which have focused attention on these links: studies of school effectiveness and minimum competency testing. Techniques used to investigate links between tests and instruction and policy issues that must be addressed are also discussed. (Author/CM)

Presents an interview with Reed Hundt, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), who implemented the Education Task Force to coordinate the FCC's role in educational provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. He asserts that writing clear rules for the communications sector will promote competition and ensure educational…

Four issues are addressed which particularly concern the involvement of the federal government in school curriculum. The issues are: (1) historical circumstances; (2) effects of federal involvement, 1950-80; (3) needed reforms of school curriculum; and (4) design of the curriculum policy system. (Author/GK)

The Maricopa Community College District's (MCCD's) Commission on Student Assessment and Initial Course Placement was formed to assess the current status of student assessment for initial course placement across the district, to review the available instruments that assess student skills for placement, to discover what other community college…

A case study illustrating the political influences on higher education in a hypothetical state is presented. Higher education became a target for reform by the state's governor, who expressed interest in the sharing of resources between institutions in close geographic proximity; supported the more extensive use of management tools as a means of…

This study argues for the use of public service employment (PSE) as a portion of an anti-recessionary fiscal policy package to include public works and tax cuts. Keynesian economics, deficit spending in this case, serves as the study's underpinnings. Chapter 1 reviews public service employment's current low status as an anti-recessionary measure.…

Seven suggestions are offered for renewing affirmative action in higher education institutions: reinvigorate its moral roots; use a broad definition; study where it has worked well; support new scholarship on diversity; strengthen interinstitutional links; rewrite the language of racial relations; and address children's needs. (MSE)

The history of the federal government's involvement in elementary and secondary school curriculum development is traced. An attempt is made to place this involvement within a social and political perspective. Effects of policies and programs are outlined, and questions concerning the federal role in curriculum development are explored. (Author/GK)

Cricizes Jacqueline Kasun's article denouncing sex education programs. Refutes her charges that the sex education program in Arcata, California, was designed to indoctrinate children in the direction of a new morality. States that the program was an attempt by teachers and the community to reinforce familial and moral values. (BE)