The educational reform strategies of Texas, California, and South Carolina are examined as they relate to reform outcomes. The current effort toward educational excellence must shift its focus from regulation and compliance monitoring to mobilization of institutional capacity. (SLD)

A typology of educational monitoring systems is developed, emphasizing its usefulness for educational policymakers. Compliance monitoring, diagnostic monitoring, and performance monitoring are three major types, which are illustrated via case studies in New Jersey, Minnesota, and California, respectively. (SLD)

Behavioral definitions are provided for the following four basic values that drive state educational policymaking: (1) choice; (2) efficiency; (3) equity; and (4) quality. How these values are distributed by the priorities of policymakers is discussed and illustrated through examination of the values of Illinois and Wisconsin. (SLD)

This article examines the emergence of innovative policies in public postsecondary education systems and suggests that state postsecondary governance structures have influences on innovation that are independent of other social, educational, and economic factors. Policy implications are discussed. (SLD)

The Minnesota Business Partnership (MBP) was studied as a policy innovator in state school reform (for kindergarten through grade 12) in relation to agenda setting, alternative formulation, and authoritative enactment. Focus is on the MBP's policy-making involvement during the 1985 state legislative session. Overall, the MBP's influence was…

Events leading to the passage in 1984 of Arizona's bilingual education law are examined using interviews with policy elite and concepts developed by D. E. Mitchell and others (1985) for studying distinctive cultures of state educational policymaking. Passage of a mandatory or more comprehensive law was not likely. (SLD)

Major changes in Massachusetts public policy governing early intervention programs for very young disabled children were described. The process of policy change and formation was analyzed by focusing on the principal catalysts for change. Factors were examined in terms of issue definition, proposal formulation, support mobilization, and decision…

Applying item response theory, and the Rasch model in particular, to measure trends and examine policy coherence in state education reform shows a change in the picture of state leadership and a generalized pattern of policy making among the states. Using item response theory in policy analysis is explored. (SLD)

Twenty case studies of state educational decision making from 1971 to 1991 are analyzed to portray the changing nature of Minnesota's education policy system and to consider whether the often cited "structural linkage" typology remains explanatory. The reformist tradition continues in Minnesota in spite of revenue problems and societal…

It is argued that school administrators at the state, district, or building level should review and evaluate policy in addition to their more traditional roles in implementation. This exercise of leadership should provide a more comprehensive response to policy initiatives. (SLD)

The methodology associated with the California Study of Elementary Mathematics is examined. The article includes an overview of state policy and a description of participants and data collection procedures at the state, school district, school, and classroom levels, including methods used to collect data for development of case studies. (TJH)

A fifth grade teacher's adoption of the California Mathematics Curriculum Framework is described, focusing on the teacher's interaction with the textbook. Four constraints influencing the teacher's ability to enact the policy are discussed. This case study illustrates that teachers are themselves learners who need support/nurturing as they change…

A case study of a second grade teacher's classroom approach to implementing the California Mathematics Curriculum Framework (CMCF) is presented. Carol Turner's approach seems to have been untouched by the policy initiative. This case highlights the complexity of changes implied by the CMCF and difficulties inherent in communicating those changes.…

An overview of five case studies and ancillary essays on teacher implementation of the California Mathematics Curriculum Framework is provided. The dilemma of the teacher as the traditionalist versus the teacher as innovator is underscored. Research of this nature provides insights into how instructional policy and teaching practice affect each…

This case study uses six interviews with administrators and three speeches to trace the definition of the term "at risk" in Arizona educational policy, where the definition process was used as an opportunity to enhance the prestige and power of the State Department of Education. (SLD)