The basic skills of reading, writing, and performing simple mathematical operations are not adequate for the non-college bound high school graduates to be fully prepared to enter the job market. Businesses today require employees who can communicate effectively, solve complex and unanticipated problems, and exercise tact and judgment. If the…

All 50 states are moving toward accountability systems that involve setting clear standards of learning, assessing student progress on those standards, and providing a variety of incentives and sanctions for performance. Many educators remain profoundly ambivalent; however, they recognize opportunities for positive change but worry that a narrow…

Outcomes-based education (OBE) is a controversial model of educational restructuring that defines learning as what students can demonstrate that they know. This document reviews four journal articles and one bulletin that reflect a range of perspectives on OBE's potential promise and problems. In "Organizing for Results: The Basis of…

Standards-based systems generally require students to meet the performance level specified in order to proceed or be certified. This issue of the Oregon School Study Council (OSSC) Bulletin surveys the types of standards currently being proposed. After an introductory chapter, chapter 2 describes eight components of standards, illustrated with a…

Reports from Graded Objectives in Modern Languages (GOML) groups throughout Great Britain are included in this annual newsletter on second language learning. It also contains two special reports: (1) report of the 9th annual GOML in-service training course in "Graded Objectives in Modern Languages: Taking Stock" (draft proposals),…

This module is one of a series of more than 125 performance-based teacher education (PBTE) learning packages focusing upon specific professional competencies of vocational instructors. The competencies upon which these modules are based were identified and verified through research as being important to successful occupational teaching at all…

This module is one of a series of more than 125 performance-based teacher education (PBTE) learning packages focusing upon specific professional competencies of vocational instructors. The competencies upon which these modules are based were identified and verified through research as being important to successful occupational teaching at all…

An examination of literature in the field of staff development reveals five models of inservice for principals. The traditional model involves enrolling in courses at colleges and universities. Institutes are short-term specific learning experiences. Competency-based training identifies knowledge and skills needed and focuses on influencing…

This module is one of a series of more than 125 performance-based teacher education (PBTE) learning packages focusing upon specific professional competencies of vocational instructors. The competencies upon which these modules are based were identified and verified through research as being important to successful occupational teaching at all…

An overview of accountability in public education is presented in this publication. Contents include a review of recent accountability efforts, an outline of a comprehensive accountability model, an analysis of accountability strategies, and a discussion of means for incorporating system indicators into the larger systemic framework. A conclusion…

This issue focuses on assisting adolescents with serious emotional handicaps to make transitions from youth serving systems into society. A framework for developing transition-oriented programs is prevented that incorporates into the specific service goals of the current environment the skills required to function in the projected environment.…

As part of a qualitative study of education reform in four rural Kentucky school districts, this report examines instructional changes that have occurred in the upper primary grades as a result of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). Researchers interviewed 13 principals, 37 teachers, and 14 eighth-grade students; observed 73 teachers working…

Brief, two-page abstracts are provided on 36 educational topics of interest to community college faculty, administrators, and staff. The topics covered are: (1) a student retention technique; (2) educational productivity and quality; (3) competency-based adult education; (4) part-time faculty; (5) Beaver College's (Pennsylvania) writing across the…

This report abstracts and summarizes seventy-eight Indiana research and development projects funded in 1977 with moneys allocated by parts C and D of the 1968 Vocational Education Amendments. The projects are grouped into the subject categories of innovative approaches, needs assessment, performance-based vocational education (PBVE), placement and…

This module is one of a series of more than 125 performance-based teacher education (PBTE) learning packages focusing upon specific professional competencies of vocational instructors. The competencies upon which these modules are based were identified and verified through research as being important to successful occupational teaching at all…