The mutual accountability model is a vehicle for equitable evaluation, with staff and instructional improvement as the goal. The model's basic assumption is that responsibility for student achievement rests not solely on the teacher but is shared by the school principal, other school personnel, and parents. The model's plan is comprised of three…

West Virginia's school improvement plan, emphasizing learning outcomes, mandates excellent education for all students. Following an executive summary, this paper discusses, first, the conflict between excellence and equity in educational reform, and West Virginia's intent to resolve that conflict; second, the legal foundations of the master plan,…

A glossary providing a common set of definitions for thinking and talking about assessment policy in undergraduate education is presented. Terms with more general meaning are defined only in this specific context. This glossary was developed as part of a series of Education Commission of the States case studies of state-based approaches to…

This report is the fourth of a series on cultivating excellence in education for the purpose of training and retraining school leaders of the 1990s. The role of school administrators in program evaluation and the purposes of program evaluation form the content of this four-part report. Part 1 establishes the context for program evaluation within a…

This study examined the relationship among accountability, efficacy, and organizational effectiveness by integrating findings from 17 research and development reports on Management by Objectives (MBO), an intervention that incorporates elements and processes of both accountability (goal-setting, measuring and monitoring, feedback) and efficacy…

A model for faculty development in colleges of education was developed based on the research on school planning, program and staff development, and school assessment. A needs assessment instrument was developed to identify training needs of principals in instructional leadership roles, and the instrument was revised to assess training needs of…

This review surveys major currents of thought and practice in teacher evaluation. Citing recent state-mandated teacher evaluation policies and procedures, several compelling questions of accuracy, fairness, and utility are raised. In response to these questions, the document first focuses on the distinction between formative and summative…

The statewide implementation of the Georgia State Board of Education (GSBE) policy for high school graduation requirements was begun in September, 1980. It specifically stated that the GSBE would be responsible for assessing the basic skills, or learner skills, of students enrolled in public schools. It further stated that each local school system…

As preventative and remediative activities in the human services are impacted by reduced funding, the worth of such activities is increasingly questioned. A metropolitan school district School Social Work Department recently initiated an evaluability assessment to focus on an extensive process in which social work staff and school administrators…

Factors related to the contextual aspects of educational administrators' information needs were studied in a statewide survey of 199 administrators of adult and community education programs. Attention was directed to: varying preferences for different information sources, the effects of different decision or program development tasks on…

The validity of data provided through rejection edits of students applying for Basic Educational Opportunity Grants (BEOGs) was assessed. The question of whether some edits were associated with applicants' failure to reapply was also considered. The analysis used the 1978-1979 BEOG applicant population. A total of 3,823,008 applicants had applied…

Results of studies to assess accuracy of information reported by applicants to the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant (BEOG) program are summarized. Attention is also focused on applicant characteristics and corrective actions taken as a result of the studies. Overall, the studies found that the majority of BEOG applicants reported income…

This article reports the results of a study of the retention of principals in Catholic elementary and secondary schools in one Midwestern diocese. Findings revealed that personal needs, career advancement, support from employer, and clearly defined role expectations were key factors in principals' retention decisions. A profile of components of…

The purpose of this report is to describe the development of the input/output governance model at Los Medanos College and to explore the governance issues pertinent to all community colleges. Considerations in creating the model included the issue of authority and responsibility in terms of legal sources, the authority and accountability…

Disproportionately large numbers of Mexican American children are labeled as mentally retarded by the public schools and placed in special education classes. Two explanatory hypotheses are discriminatory referral procedures and discriminatory clinical procedures. Findings from research conducted between 1963 and 1969 concerning these processes and…