In this webinar, Dr. Stephanie Hirsh, Executive Director of Learning Forward, presented the research on effective PLCs and shared her experiences in creating, assessing, and leading PLCs. This Q&A addressed questions participants had for Dr. Hirsh following the webinar. The webinar recording and PowerPoint presentation are also available.

Given the heavy accountability mandates that have permeated K-16 education in recent years, many higher education faculty and administrators have experienced pressure to establish measurable student learning outcomes and then produce data that demonstrate student mastery of the stated learning objectives. For some faculty, assessment data analysis…

Although several school districts in a southern US state use a three-tiered Response to Intervention (RtI) model to supplemental core reading instruction and positively impact student achievement, the model appears to have had nominal impact. The theoretical foundation for this study is anchored in a constructivist approach to education. Three…

The Head Start National Reporting System (NRS) exemplified an assessment system where significant ambiguity existed regarding its purpose(s). This article considers the perceived purposes of the NRS from a local program perspective through observations and interviews with staff members during the 2004-2005 school year. This study found that a…

Multiyear study of a small school district in Virginia finds that portfolios enhance the accountability and professional development purposes of teacher evaluation. While finding portfolios to be fair and accurate measures of teacher performance, teachers and administrators expressed concern about the time required to develop them. (Contains 3…

University-based teacher-education programmes in the USA confront mounting pressure to demonstrate that graduates will have a significant and positive impact on student achievement. Such pressure has forced teacher educators to wrestle with the question of what constitutes compelling evidence that teacher candidates will indeed have such an…

Data from 82 questionnaires returned by vocational agriculture teachers and administrators in Montana provided information on: summer employment status, importance of summer program to overall program, planning and accountability, time spent on summer activities, and perceptions of program activities. Six recommendations were formulated as a…

Discusses the need for educators to respond positively to changing enrollments and financial conditions by demonstrating fiscal responsibility, planning and developing relevant academic programs, and understanding the types of students being served. Attitudinal and managerial factors in the achievement of these goals are explored. (JP)

Planning Program Budgeting Systems (PPBS) rest on the assumption that decision-making and resource allocation can be managed more efficiently when information about educational processes is collected uniformly and aggregated systematically. The School Planning Evaluation and Communication System (SPECS) conforms to this conception of PPBS as a…

This study is a technical-behavioral analysis of an accountability system--the educational review program. The purpose of the study was to develop a model that school systems can use in implementing accountability systems. The project explored the idea that when formal management systems are introduced into schools, they ignore individual…

This study is a technical-behavioral analysis of an accountability program based on the planning programming budgeting system (PPBS). The purpose of the study was to develop a model that school systems can use in implementing accountability systems. The project explored the idea that when formal management systems are introduced into schools, they…

The purpose of this research was to ascertain the degree to which staff members in the Beverly Hills Unified School District were knowledgeable about the concept of accountability in public education and specifically Program Planning and Budgeting Systems (PPBS), and to obtain indicators pertaining to the climate for receptivity toward this…

This study examines the effectiveness of an accountability system--Alter--whose aim is to facilitate long-term planning. The purpose of the study was to develop a model that school systems can use in implementing accountability systems. The project explored the idea that when formal management systems are introduced into schools, they ignore…

In discussing the importance of a competency based approach to teacher education and potential concerns for program integrity, four points are emphasized: (1) In Competency Based Education (CBE), stated competencies define all other program elements; (2) Many programs do not possess internal consistency, integrity, or external validity; (3) CBE…

This report reviews several approaches to organizational analysis and discusses problems in implementing an accountability system. Chapter 1 surveys socio-technical and technical-behavioral systems. Chapter 2 discusses the importance of psychoanalysis and organization analysis. Chapter 3 presents problems in implementing an accountability system…