Significant control of efficiency and quality in delivering training is achieved by specifically defining the target trainee in terms of prerequisite abilities and learning needs (learning objectives), measuring those abilities by prerequisite testing and pretesting, and responding to differences in planned ways. (CT)

Describes new theories of teacher professional development, identifies known costs of conventional professional development, discusses how new approaches (like collaborative problem solving and mentoring relationships) affect costs (for teacher time and supportive infrastructure), examines efficiency considerations, and highlights fiscal and…

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…

The Rural Initiative Program funds projects addressing specific rural education problems. Sample projects, chosen both by matching programs to selection criteria and by competition, include: staff development improvement, tele-teaching, expanded rural course offerings, and school-based entrepreneurship. This paper discusses cost analysis…

Analyzes the organizational context of emergent market forms in education, focusing on policymakers' management of a mixed economy of provision. To examine the effects of different mixed economies, this article draws upon efficiency and equity concepts and applies them to recent field research in the United Kingdom. Currently, there is far too…

In education, competition and devolution are two dominant forces driving schools to become leaner, faster, smarter, and more viable institutions. This article presents 98 ideas for helping administrators raise funds and reap cost savings on employee salaries, facilities, financial management, food service, maintenance, purchasing, scheduling,…

There are numerous historical precedents for today's demands for economic efficiency and accountability in schools. This paper examines comprehensive nineteenth-century accountability system ("Payment by Results") that endured in English and Welsh elementary schools from 1862 until 1897. The amount of the yearly governmental grant…

Reviews and analyzes the major educational reforms initiated in Connecticut during the last 10 years, employing economics terminology. Describes selected initiatives from the 1986 Education Enhancement Act. Discusses the effects of four state commissions with input from key interest groups on Connecticut educational policy. State board of…

Compares pedagogical practices in an eighth-grade middle school classroom with those a of one-room Amish school studied in an earlier work. Taken together, the two settings suggest that one must seek "the present status and performance of the U.S. education system" not in the usual indicators, but in the contradictory beliefs and…

Summarizes a New York State Board of Regents study group's findings in four sections: an overview and critique of the real property tax; proposals for reforming this tax; proposals for shifting away from real property; and proposals for freeing resources by improving management of educational systems. Progress could be made on all fronts…

Critiques two recent White Papers representing future policy directions for British post-16 education and training. The higher education White Paper exemplifies the government's quest to enhance efficiency in pubic-sector organizations by introducing commercial-sector models. By prompting higher student enrollment without increased funding and…

Data-based decision making is a process of inquiry, analysis, and decision making that draws inferences from the interplay of school input/process and output variables. A case study involving a Connecticut district's response to falling SATs illustrates the need for fast, sophisticated information technology systems. (MLH)

A gross anatomy program was evaluated that shortened the dissection time on the extremities by having half the class dissect either the upper or lower extremity and then study the opposite extremity already dissected by other classmates. Analysis of covariance showed that the program efficiently utilized laboratory time. (MLW)

Sponsors of education management information systems (EMIS) often underestimate EMIS's impact on other education sector activities and fail to provide individual and organizational incentives for encouraging use of improved educational data at the national level. Liberia's example illustrates the consequences of developing poor incentive…

This report discusses the use of funds provided by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act in California, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Texas. Objectives of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act are discussed and requirements for states to receive formula grants are reviewed. Observations from project…