In 1988, a California study by Friedkin and Necochea confirmed an interaction between size and socioeconomic status such that large schools benefited affluent students, whereas small schools benefited impoverished students. This report describes a replication applying the model to West Virginia schools and school districts. In order to control for…

It is crucial that measures and indicators for important aspects of the educational system be found and collected. As the education system strives to meet commonly identified goals, effective inputs become easier to identify and become more amenable to common collection and use, overcoming the two major impediments to developing national education…

The Dallas School Accountability Program is described, and a step-by-step method for determining how well a school performs relative to other schools is presented. The Dallas program is a two-part program. Beginning with criterion-based improvement plans, goal levels are set by determining the discrepancy between the actual and desired levels of…

This plan describes goals and processes implemented as of 1994 in the Florida Community College System to provide for systematic improvement and the assessment of quality and efficiency in the college system. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to and history of the accountability movement in Florida. Chapter II discusses the accountability…

This paper describes an elementary school's attempts to give its students a "moral education." The school's program emphasized participation and discussion while stressing rules and principles of cooperation, trust, community, autonomy, and self-reliance. School personnel initiated a more democratic environment by moving the locus of…

In 1993-94, Sinclair Community College (SCC), in Ohio, conducted a survey of 1,650 associate degree and certificate candidates to determine their perceptions regarding their educational experiences at SCC. A total of 505 candidates completed the survey, for a response rate of 30.6%. Using a 5-point scale, with 1 indicating "excellent"…

This paper provides a framework for the discussion of policy and development of educational quality. Based on the choice of indicators, the purpose of assessment, and the type of evaluation, the paper proposes a whole-matrix approach to addressing the critical issues in assessing and monitoring educational quality. These critical issues include…

An inventory consisting of 25 Likert-type statements assessed the perceptions of 62 urban and 66 rural Minnesota elementary teachers concerning educational practices that enhance or prohibit success in their schools. Urban teachers were more positive than rural teachers about factors contributing to success in their respective schools, differing…

Amidst controversy over proposed school closings, Hereford and Worcester (England) local education authorities (LEA) asked for an evaluation of the effectiveness of six small rural "comprehensive" secondary schools (180-450 students) and their importance to surrounding communities. Data were collected on student achievement; teacher and…

Data from the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) reveal that gains in performance for the African American student population of Region VII of the state's educational system were not keeping pace with the performance of African Americans in the rest of Texas. This study investigated practices in school districts in the region in which…

Based on the findings of a 1998 conference on the new assessment and accountability requirements in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), this report discusses critical issues that surround the assessment provisions included in the 1997 IDEA amendments and contains recommendations related to state and district-wide assessments…

This report discusses the findings of a study that compared identified desirable characteristics of state accountability reports with 20 accountability reports generated by 7 states. Desirable characteristics included (1) clarity (the intended audience, statements of purpose, a description of the population being reported on and the states'…

Career education and guidance (CEG) are schools is primarily concerned with helping students make and implement career decisions. Evidence from motivation, self-efficacy, expectancy-value, achievement motivation, and attribution theory suggests that CEG may helps enhance pupil motivation and attainment. In terms of those theories, CEG can help…

This book examines recent school reforms in England and Wales, the U.S.A., Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. It suggests that, at the same time as appearing to devolve power to individual schools and parents, governments have actually been increasing their own capacity to "steer" the system at a distance. Section 1 sets the scene by outlining and…

After acknowledging the complexity and importance of curriculum change, this document offers suggestions for involving students, parents, board members, and graduates in curriculum review. Information on empowering teachers, promoting growth in all adults, and encouraging collaboration is provided as well as necessary steps in curriculum review.…