This article examines one of the challenges to the integration of classroom and large-scale portfolio assessment, a challenge posed by the use of a student's classroom portfolio for large-scale assessment of his or her individual competencies. When work is composed with the support of peers, teachers, and parents, whose work is being judged? The…

The 1996 session of the North Carolina General Assembly enacted legislation, The School-Based Management and Accountability Program (the ABCs plan), an educational reform initiative designed to improve student performance. The accountability model for the public schools in kindergarten through eighth grade is designed to provide focus on the basic…

These digests provide information for educators about the nature of cooperation and how cooperative principles can be used to restructure classrooms, administrative hierarchies, and work relationships of all types. Digest 1 describes the competitive, individual, and cooperative interaction patterns and examines the impact of cooperative learning…

New American Schools (NAS) is a coalition of several partners dedicated to supporting innovative, successful schools throughout the country. The partners include the Education Commission of the States, the New American Schools Development Corporation, the seven NAS design teams, the RAND corporation, and various school districts and states. This…

This discussion of the special legal status of the University of Minnesota, known as constitutional autonomy, defines this status, states the rationale for the principle, and describes the relevant territorial act and constitutional provision. The main part of the legal analysis examines Minnesota court cases which addressed the issue of the…

In response to core indicators of effectiveness developed by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), the Colorado Community College and Occupational Education System (CCCOES) initiated a system-wide project to develop core indicators specific to the state's colleges. The project was intended to reflect the immediate needs for the…

This document is intended to assist individuals responsible for completing the annual development plan required of all community-based adult literacy programs seeking funding from Manitoba's (Canada) Literacy and Continuing Education Branch. A sample development plan is presented to illustrate the initiative, reflection, and planning needed to…

In 1990 the Kentucky state legislature passed the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA), which mandated a total overhaul of the state's kindergarten through grade 12 public school system and was designed to result in equitable education for all students. Accountability components of the KERA include financial incentives for staff in schools where…

With the failure of the Pennsylvania General Assembly to adopt the governor's education reform package, the time is opportune to review the major problems with education in Pennsylvania and some actions that would relieve these problems. The main symptom of education problems, in Pennsylvania as in the nation as a whole, is weak academic…

Because human behavior is dynamic and influenced by multiple interacting variables, questions have emerged regarding the usefulness of a science that relies heavily on experimental methodologies. A review of current scientific practices in psychology illuminates how the cognitive authority of the field exonerates the standard view of science. This…

This book argues that school-based management appears to be primarily concerned with dismantling centralized education systems (which have traditionally supported the work of teachers, students, and parents) and replacing them with a free-market ideology of competition and choice. School-based management separates elite policy makers and interest…

As state governments and the public demand greater accountability from community and technical colleges, increasing focus is placed on the concept of assessing student academic achievement. To be effective, assessment processes should provide institutions with information that helps develop specific plans for improving operations. While processes…

The skills and knowledge required for productive employment and citizenship are constantly expanding. To secure America's economic future, more students than ever before must be educated at much higher levels. States have responded to the challenge with energy, leadership, and resources. This report describes those efforts and analyzes their…

This document contains a semiannual report on the activities of the Department of Education's Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the 6-month period ending March 31, 1996. It highlights the Office's significant accomplishments and activities, including: (1) a series of audit reports to aid reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act; (2)…

In November 1994, the California State University (CSU) system developed a proposal to eliminate remedial education for entering undergraduate students, offering this proposal as a solution to raise the system's standards. However, the CSU has presented no research showing evidence of the problem that the proposal is intended to solve. Further,…