This article presents a descriptive, critical analysis of the comparability of information concerning students, teachers, and school resources gathered by organisations within government jurisdiction, and the pitfalls for the unwary researcher using government data banks. Differences in the method of compiling information about citizens, and…

Mapping India's vast, complex, and unruly education system through the systematic generation of accurate and current data, and encouraging accountability by persuading a diverse array of actors to engage with such data, is an ambitious, if not heroic, project. Yet this is what India's Education Information Management System (EMIS), the Unified…

ED"Facts" is a U.S. Department of Education (ED) initiative to govern, acquire, validate, and use high-quality, kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) performance data for education planning, policymaking, and management and budget decision making to improve outcomes for students. ED"Facts" centralizes data provided by state…

This paper examines the global policy convergence toward high-stakes testing in schools and the use of test results to "steer at a distance", particularly as it applies to policy-makers' promise to improve teacher quality. Using Deleuze's three syntheses of time in the context of the Australian policy blueprint Quality Education, this…

This statement of Cornelia M. Blanchette to the U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Reources discusses Department of Education information management systems that support the financial aid programs authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. These programs help the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), the…

Perspectives concerning data collection in postsecondary education management and planning are considered. It is suggested that one of the dangers in data collection operations is collecting data without knowing why. It is argued that unless one knows in advance what is being measured and the purposes of measurement, data should not be collected.…

This paper discusses the management information needs of state governing boards and higher educational institutions in their efforts to develop and implement management information systems designed to improve institutional accountability. Based on a literature review, the paper describes the need and the experiences that state governing boards and…

Instructional information systems (IIS) are built on current practices in testing and program evaluation, but go beyond them. IIS are computerized data banks that allow users to ask a variety of evaluative questions. Factors which facilitate IIS, characteristics of future systems, and lessons from management information systems are discussed. (GDC)

This paper presents a conceptual framework for conducting followup studies as an integral part of an institutional evaluation program. Data obtained from followup studies should become part of an overall information system designed to provide data for institutional decision-making. Such data should be conveniently stored and readily available for…

The visible claims of the current accountability movement are examined critically, and an alternative philosophy and a developing system are offered. Areas examined include the psychological implications of accountability philosophies for teaching staff, certain educational measurement problems, and the availability or adequacy of operating…

This paper seeks to provide a rationale for evaluating Technical and Further Education (TAFE) programs by using a management system approach that is based on corporate planning. The first section reviews the sources of increased demands for accountability in TAFE (societal, economic, government, and legislative sources) and examines various…

Proceedings of a Florida statewide conference on quality in higher education are presented. Topics include the following: databases, the community colleges' accounting for quality, program budgeting, and trends in truth in testing. Transcripts of a panel discussion on databases and the following papers and reports are included: "Quality and…