A private organization (Education Alternative, Inc.) is presently managing nine Baltimore public schools; Christopher Whittle's Edison Project is planning similar public school management projects; a private consulting company (Public Strategies Group) recently took charge of the Minneapolis public schools. Goaded by concerns about accountability…

In 1981 the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education established regulations of quality assurance for educational program evaluations conducted in the state through two major areas: the certification of educational program evaluators and the use of the Joint Committee's Standards for Evaluation, Projects and Materials in the…

The question of how close a recreation program approximates the original objective of the programer can only be answered by extensive evaluation. The true value of the total recreation program may be determined by evaluating the benefit of a recreation program to the participant. (JN)

Examines and critiques development of a set of performance indicators in New Zealand higher education introduced as a result of recent reforms. Outlines policy context and considers the indicators' role and significance within new mechanisms designed to improve accountability and efficiency. Reviews university opposition to the 1990 Education…

Designed to monitor school accountability, KIRIS (Kentucky Instructional Results Information System) offers a powerful lesson about how high-stakes accountability systems can distort and undermine original visions for effective curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices. Changes have been influenced by several interconnected elements:…

Explores how schools and community agencies collaborate to meet needs of at-risk youth, focusing on four youth services teams located in two rural Oregon counties. Challenges included loose structure, lack of defined objectives, lack of common understanding of related roles and responsibilities, school leadership burden, time management, need for…

Some educators believe that authentic, performance-based assessments can drive instructional improvement. The Kentucky Education Reform Act uses a measure-driven instructional approach (the Kentucky Instructional Results Information Program) that evaluates student portfolios in writing and mathematics, achievement on performance events, and scores…

Examines influences on six Saskatchewan teachers as they evaluated students' mastery of a new government-mandated, process-oriented curriculum. Teachers became more aware of their obligation to align student evaluation with curricular objectives. Changing their strategies (intensifying students' involvement in the evaluation process) helped…

Good reforms can have harmful results if equity effects are ignored. As California implements its accountability system, certain questions must be addressed concerning the system's data use, measurement features (consistency, meaningfulness, achievement growth, achievement gaps among groups), instructional improvement focus, incentives for…

Student mobility is associated with lower achievement and test scores and affects teachers, parents, and classmates at both departing and receiving schools. Some districts, like Fort Wayne (Indiana) Public Schools, calculate mobility and stability rates for accountability purposes. A sidebar outlines tips for promoting mobile students' gains. (MLH)

The papers selected to provide this resource deal specifically with evaluations of the Teacher Corps as opposed to evaluation of issues and problems generally. The first paper does address concisely the current dialogue in the educational evaluation community, but its role in this publcation is secondary to discussion of evaluation activities in…

Describes school-level K-12 revenue and expenditure data collection in California, Texas, Florida, and Minnesota. Neither California nor Minnesota collects school-site fiscal data. Florida's highly advanced district and school-level data collection system has inconsistently reported standardized test scores. Texas has developed a good database to…

Examines trends in the incidence of retention, remediation, and identification of students as handicapped in 12 New York State elementary schools across a period of high-stakes assessment and public accountability (1978-79 to 1988-89). A significant increase in the proportion of children retained in grade or identified as handicapped occurred…

The first education reform wave stressed top-down state initiatives identifying educators as the problem and prescribed greater accountability, closer supervision, tighter regulation, better teacher screening, tougher graduation standards, and a longer school year. The second reform wave saw educators as the solution and advocated bottom-up…

Each year, school districts in every state are required to file various financial reporting forms with their state education agency. Although these documents are often viewed more as a nuisance than a useful planning tool, they represent a wealth of information rarely exploited to full advantage by state or local policy makers. The research…