Purpose: Education is a key institution of modern society, long recognized for its central role in the reproduction of inequities and with the potential to challenge them. Schools behave as their systems are designed. Achieving equity and excellence is not possible through attempts to fix "the school" or educators. Principles of systemic…

In 2002 President Martin Jischke initiated a new era in strategic planning at Purdue. Under his leadership, strategic planning became a centralized activity with unit plans aligned to the university plan. Strategic goals were designed to have maximum impact, which would be measurable through metrics. Strategic planning at Purdue would be an…

The author briefly reviews literature dealing with the origins of the accountability movement, with models and programs for its implementation, and with the unresolved philosophical and methodological controversies surrounding accountability. (Author/IRT)

Adopts the dramatic form of a modern morality play to examine the confrontation of humanistic curriculum values and educational accountability. (WM)

In order to improve the chances for a working accountability system there will need to be a change in many of the traditional organizational patterns of educational establishments. (Author)

San Jacinto, California, has adopted a measurable institutional objectives approach to management by objectives. Results reflect, not only improved cost effectiveness of community college education, but also more effective educational programs for students. (Author/WM)

Representative models of program evaluation are described by their approach to values, and categorized by empirical style: positivism versus humanism. The models are: social process audit; experimental/quasi-experimental research design; goal-free evaluation; systems evaluation; cost-benefit analysis; and accountability program evaluation. (CP)

This booklet describes the Independent Educational Management Audit (IEMA), a systems approach to educational management that is intended to help school systems plan for the most effective use of available resources, in terms of specific educational outcomes. Through an emphasis on needs assessment, IEMA is designed to (1) help identify and remove…

This paper outlines an approach designed to provide an accurate and efficient cost accounting system for use in schools and other social service organizations. In his discussion, the author presents a detailed step-by-step description of how to establish, plan, and operate the system. The basic element of the system is the Daily Event Record…

While concern for efficiency and productivity and the use of systems terminology are not new, the intensity with which the jargon is used is relatively new. Unfortunately, the technological terms have frequently become distorted and value-laden through attempts to apply them to compelling economic and political issues. As a result, administrative…

The least understood of complex systems is that which produces educated people. Superficially, many key elements of a manufacturing organization are part of the system: a product, product tolerance limits, methods for assessing product deviation, and a feed-back system for making compensatory adjustments. In layman's terms these elements are:…

The purpose of this manual is to provide a nontechnical description of the Fresno County system for program evaluation. Intended for the use of the school administrator, teacher, or researcher whose knowledge of electronic data processing is limited, this manual presents ways of using the system, the procedures required to support system…

This report explores some techniques that could assist educational managers in their attempts to arrive at more optimal input and output mixes. Following a review of the literature on input-output analyses in education and a description of the Pennsylvania Educational Quality Assessment Program (the basis of the present study), an empirical…

The edited presentations of the Accountability Through Evaluation Institute are given to provide insight into some problems and solutions regarding educational accountability. Presentations include "Educational Accountability" (Lee E. Wickline); "A Scheme for Evaluation" (Robert Armstrong, Terry D. Cornell, Robert Kraner, and…