This document provides information about the development of a quality control procedure that adds a new capability to program management. The procedure, the Standardized Educational Program Audit (SEPA), is being developed by the Florida Department of Education for use with Elementary Secondary Education Act Title III development projects. This…

Although two economic methods, cost effectiveness and benefit-cost analysis, are frequently mentioned as useful tools for educational decision making, only one, cost effectiveness, has potential for making a contribution to this field. A benefit-cost analysis tries for each alternative to measure benefits and costs, which are then discounted to…

The following topics concerning research methodology for educational change are examined: (1) targets for change, (2) techniques for monitoring change, (3) time for change, and (4) testaments for change. (CK)

A total of 126 leaders in vocational and technical education from 44 states and the District of Columbia participated in a 3-day seminar conducted to focus attention on the concepts of evaluation and accountability in graduate programs in vocational education. Reaction panels and discussion groups were stimulated by these major presentations: (1)…

This paper presents a family of studies associated with a large-scale evaluation conducted to assess the impact of research-based models and promising strategies on non-cognitive and cognitive school indicators. In a partnership between community-based organizations and a large urban public school district, project SHIELD provided services to…

Keiser College is a private, for-profit Level II institution with thirteen branch campuses throughout Florida. Most of its academic programs are offered at multiple sites. A major concern has been to establish and maintain the consistency of its academic offerings at all campuses as the College expands. Building on a pre- posttesting mechanism…

This document, the thirteenth annual report of the North Carolina Community College System, details the critical success factors of students in the state's community colleges. The report is the result of a process undertaken to streamline and simplify accountability reporting by the Community College System. The purpose of the report is two-fold.…

Educational reform is becoming synonymous with accountability. However, designing an effective accountability system poses serious challenges for states as is clear from the progress and pitfalls experienced by states such as Texas, Kentucky, and California. For example, many states tend to overload their new accountability programs, resulting in…

This report summarizes accountability activities and initiatives submitted by Illinois' 48 community colleges in their Accountability/Program Review reports. The three primary sections of this report include Accountability Special Focus Areas, Analyses of the Results of Fiscal Year 1999 College Program Reviews, and State-Level Initiatives. Topics…

The importance of international studies is examined with focus on international activities and their objectives, patterns of responding to difficult questions, and the importance of review. Goals identified include: to provide students with a less parochial perspective and to focus on the global aspects of a subject. (LC)

Describes the design and application of the Student Affairs Program Evaluation Process at the University of Nebraska. An evaluation team including students and faculty was set up to study counseling, recreation and orientation programs. Weaknesses and strengths of the process were discussed and suggestions made for appropriate followup activities.…

Describes implementation of Responsibility Center Management in the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University (Indianapolis) to achieve higher academic and research goals and what the institution as a whole has learned about the approach. Argues that this form of decentralized management is a partial antidote to the outmoded,…

Problems when developing and operating a successful student assessment program are described. Potential problems and solutions in three major areas are examined: the purposes and definitions of assessment, program implementation, and assessment designs and methods. (Author/MLW)

Reports results of a study that examines (1) the extent to which colleges have institutional policies requiring collection of outcome assessment data; (2) which outcomes measures are being collected; (3) which measures are considered most useful in political science departments; and (4) future institutional plans. Concludes that all measures are…

In the Los Angeles Unified School District, 64 percent of its 660 schools increased their norm-referenced test scores from 1998 to 1999. Success stems from a clear, districtwide approach to standards-based learning and broad-based communication about student and school gains. Bancroft Middle School's results-driven approach is profiled. (MLH)