Under both No Child Left Behind and the Every Student Succeeds Act, school leaders have been mandated to employ data-driven decision-making (DDDM) to diagnose student needs, implement targeted supports, and design school improvements. However, district administrators tasked with developing principals' DDDM capacity face a tough road. The authors…

The recommendations in this brief create a framework for using data effectively to make instructional decisions. The availability of student-level data for educators has pushed forward the movement to strengthen the role of data to guide instruction and improve student learning. While improvements in technology and assessments, as well as recent…

This document describes the development of an inventory of higher education outcome variables and measures. The intent of the inventory is to assist different kinds and levels of decisionmakers in communicating the desired and actual outcomes of instructional as well as research and public service activities. Two guidelines for using the inventory…

In the process of planning for the needs of all students, local school officials could use a linear planning guide. Such a procedure calls for moving through several phases: preparation for planning, analysis of the situation, development of alternatives, selection of a plan, implementation of the plan, and evaluation of the plan and of the…

Reviews some of the problems involved in the evaluation of educational software, and describes a classroom-based case study approach to software evaluation intended for application by autonomous self-programming groups of teachers. (20 references) (Author/CLB)

A systems theory approach to information requirements in education and in evaluation strategies is applied to decision making. Educational decision making itself involves long range planning, system structuring to implement goals, system allocation (cost), and system monitoring which provides the feedback. Each level requires differential…

In order to sort out a comprehensible total picture regarding needs assessment and to develop a useful conceptual framework for this area, a comprehensive review of the needs assessment literature pertinent to the concerns of postsecondary education was conducted. The review found that needs assessment is a viable tool for input to planning, but…

The budget decision making process at Stanford University, California, from 1970 through 1979 was evaluated in relation to the allocation of general funds to 38 academic departments. Using Simon's theory of bounded rationality and an organizational level of analysis, the Stanford decision process was tested for its rationality through…

The paper describes how information regarding future trends is collected and made available to educational policy makers. Focusing on educational implications of social and population trends, the paper is based on data derived from use of trend forecasting by educational policy makers in Florida and other southeastern states. The document is…

A comprehensive career development program model is presented. It attempts to provide total career capability for all and has the following process objectives: (1) provide students with experiences and information that present occupational dimensions accurately; (2) provide appropriate situations at different levels so that all youth may have an…