This guide to standards and measures for compliance with the Perkins Act was developed by and for 29 community colleges in Michigan in order to provide accountability for planning and program improvement. The Perkins Act requires recipients of Perkins funds to evaluate the effectiveness of programs based upon a statewide system of standards and…

This two-phase proportionate review model is linked to the revised quality framework for Scottish FE (further education) colleges that was published on the SFEFC (Scottish Further Education Funding Council) and HMIE (Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education) websites on 28 May 2004. The previous version of the framework had enjoyed a high level of…

States are using a variety of approaches to assess secondary students' career technical education (CTE) skill attainment under Perkins. According to data reported in the U.S. Department of Education's "Report to Congress on State Performance, Program Year 2002-03," states and territories are currently using the following approaches to collect…

An effective staff development program will act as a ritual which unifies and offers meaning, revitalizes, offers hope, and legitimizes the school. The accountability view of staff development effectiveness assumes that there is a direct and measurable relationship between professional development, instruction, and student performance. (JN)

The rationale for state-level program reviews in hiqher education is illustrated by case studies in Florida and New York. Different approaches to evaluation, reviews of existing programs, and agency structure and responsibilities are also discussed. (MLW)

This keynote address to the 1996 International Early Childhood Conference on Children with Special Needs reviews progress in early intervention of the last decade and four studies which examined the effectiveness of early intervention programs and parent education programs for teen mothers. The author urges better data collection and holding state…

This article discusses how the concept of efficiency in special education services is translated into specific practices. A paradigm is presented that quantifies a measure of student need, ties school allocations to student needs, tracks actual expenditures on special education, and links those expenditures to quantifiable measures of student…

Reviews what is known about the overall effectiveness of Title I programs and discusses how Title I can become a more effective intervention. Makes three policy recommendations for fostering better research and better programs, centering on accountability, continued research and development, and randomized experimental studies of promising…

This chapter uses a case study to develop a set of contexts and conditions for improving the alignment of purposes of alumni survey research within and across higher education institutions. (Contains 2 tables.)

In the 1990s, Virginia launched one of the nation's most ambitious standards-based reform efforts. Encouraged by a budding national accountability movement and motivated by conservative distrust of the public school establishment, state officials sought to clarify what students needed to know and to hold students and educators accountable for…

In the last decade, voluntary efforts by firms to reduce their environmental impacts have received increasing attention from both policymakers and scholars. This article discusses polluters' incentives to reduce their releases. In particular, using data from Canada's National Pollutant Release Inventory, it examines the impacts of conventional…

The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' perceptions of alternate assessments. A total of 983 teachers from five states participated in this study. The results suggest that teachers tended to agree that their students should be included in school accountability, but they did not agree with most items assessing the educational benefits of…

Perhaps the most ambitious example of the way in which flexibility and accountability have been brought together can be found in the State Flex and Local Flex demonstration programs. Although no additional resources are provided to participating states and districts, the enhanced flexibility granted under State Flex and Local Flex allows…

Over the past five years the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) has used the results of the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) to rate public school performance on the School Accountability Report (SAR). The public often considers the school ratings as indicative of the school's quality. There appears to be a lack of quantitative…

Kentucky has developed an assessment and accountability system that provides outcome data for a set of state early childhood standards for children birth to 5 years of age that are aligned with early childhood outcomes designated by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Within this flexible and comprehensive state assessment system,…