This series of papers on needs assessment and program evaluation for school library media supervisors defines these concepts and explores ways in which they can be applied to the school media program. Papers included are: "A Humanistic Approach to Needs Assessment and Program Evaluation," by Tom Sills; "Approaches to Needs Assessment and Program…

This paper describes a project in which an office of institutional research in a private research university developed a "Key Success Indices" (KSI) report that is presented each month to the president and other senior officers of the university. The KSI report collects summary data from a wide range of offices within the institution to…

The 20 Regional Education Service Centers in Texas were established in 1967 at the request of the State Board of Education. Governance is vested in locally elected boards of directors in the participating school districts, and each center is managed by an executive director. Operated by state appropriations, special projects and programs, and…

Background information is presented on the history and operation of educational research and development (R&D) centers supported by the National Institute of Education (NIE). The objective is to provide information for the four study groups that are assisting NIE in identifying missions for center competition. In addition, some lessons that…

The differentiation between efficiency and effectiveness in evaluating the performance of institutions of higher learning is examined and the role of management information systems in the decision-making processes of such institutions is explored. While efficiency is primarily concerned with cost minimization concepts, effectiveness is concerned…

In order to improve desegregation of the elementary schools, and the low achievement level of elementary schools with high concentrations of poor and minority students, the Massachusetts Board of Education placed a coordinated approach to improving urban schools first among its objectives. The following educational objectives were set for each…

Factors related to the contextual aspects of educational administrators' information needs were studied in a statewide survey of 199 administrators of adult and community education programs. Attention was directed to: varying preferences for different information sources, the effects of different decision or program development tasks on…

This paper reviews the economic and political science literature, and the literature on Chapter 1/Title I in order to identify policy options that retain adequate fiscal accountability as well as insure program quality. Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 is the successor to Title I of the Elementary and Secondary…

The use of quantitative approaches to the management of higher education and implications for legislative concerns are considered. Among the new developments and practices that illustrate the use of quantitative approaches to management are the following: basic structures for categorizing programs and activities for reporting and analysis;…

This paper examines how states have responded to the planning, evaluation, and parent participation components of compensatory education programs to promote reform at the local level. Particular attention is given to the interaction between state political culture, legislative requirements, and state education agency leadership style, and their…

Resource allocation processes suitable for use in not-for-profit institutions are discussed and a conceptual model for resource allocation in institutions of higher education is presented. The objectives of higher education include the personal development and education of students, not merely the certification of students by conferring degrees.…

In 1984 the Education Department (ED) began to monitor state education agencies' (SEA) administration of the education block grant known as "Chapter 2." ED staff visited 21 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico and found many serious problems among the SEAs and local education agencies (LEAs). The problems are divided into…

Throughout the 1990s, legislation increasingly required programs receiving federal funding to be more accountable for what they did. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 further emphasized the levels of accountability to ensure student success in schools. For limited English proficient (LEP) education, these requirements have intensified the…

The Chapter 1 program of the Educational Consolidation and Improvement Act would be made more efficient and effective by implementing the following recommendations: (1) improve the targeting of funds; (2) let good educational practice rather than accounting practice shape Chapter 1 programs; (3) establish systems of output accountability for…

How institutional research can improve the quality of institutional performance of colleges and universities in the face of funding constraints is discussed. An example of the use of instructional research to assist in documenting institutional quality in Australia is noted. Institutional research uses data collection, analysis, and interpretation…