Standardized testing plays an increasingly important role in the lives of today's students and educators. The U.S. No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires assessment in math and literacy in grades 3-8 and 10 and, as of 2007-08, in science once in grades 3-5, 6-9, and 10-12. Based on National Center for Education Statistics enrollment projections,…

Metropolitan State College's computer support system is described. Unique features of this system include: separate off-campus facilities for both academic and administrative computer support and a system where institutional research and administrative computer services report to the same office. (BH)

Studies the changes taking place in the way social work is developing and using knowledge for practice. Explores how the profession has moved toward scientifically or empirically based practice. Points out new forms of knowledge already available practitioner. (Author/JAC)

The design and implementation of an integrated financial control system at Clemson University are described. The advantages of considering the integration of systems to meet university-wide objectives as design criteria are discussed as well as sub-system relationships. (Author/BH)

Five papers discuss factors affecting human interactions with online information systems. Topics covered include the use of discourse analysis for interaction functions specification; the impact of optical data disks; the need for research into the search process; user access to data dictionaries; and the development of full text systems. (CLB)

The University of Massachusetts (UMass) approach to rapid development of an information warehouse to meet needs for executive information, decision support, and general management reporting is described. Logical, management, and technological infrastructure challenges are discussed. The approach taken, which delivers summary data first before…

Summarizes the issues, debates, and decisions that helped to shape "The Washington Post's" online service, Digital Ink. Highlights include: differences between online and print versions of the newspaper, structure of the user interface, organization of information, content, searching and navigation, and advertising. (JKP)

Identifies the following basic issues involved in planning and implementing school-linked services: (1) planning; (2) targeting; (3) governance; (4) information systems; and (5) staffing. Effective planning requires a policy-minded team of equals from various agencies. Strategies that community teams can use to address each issue are discussed.…

Explains the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) construct, which is used for development of management information systems, and analyzes the staffing composition of SDLC steps for nonprofit arts organizations including art museums and symphony orchestras. The use of outside help, in-house personnel, and volunteers is examined; and the influence…

Clarifying the meaning of principal effectiveness as a point of departure in the development of an appraisal system in Connecticut is discussed, focusing on the reasons for an appraisal system, how effectiveness should be defined, where to find relevant information, and how best to organize such information. (SLD)

Discusses government plans and implementation of a centralized educational technology system in Korean schools. Investigates the current situation in the field; hardware and software distribution; teacher readiness and training; Internet applications and multimedia; government role; and reengineering the system. (AEF)

The author reviews the evolution of Web services--from information sharing to transactional to relationship building--and the progression from first-generation to fourth-generation Web sites. (Contains 3 figures.)

I synthesize some of the lessons we have learned about systemic school reform in order and derive two explicit hypotheses about when such reforms are likely to be more and less successful. The first hypothesis focuses on program implementation: to achieve success, any systemic reform must overcome challenges at each stage of the policy-making…

AgEcon Search, http://www.agecon.lib.umn.edu, is an important and ground-breaking example of an alternative method of delivering current research results to many potential users. AgEcon Search, through a distributed model, collects and disseminates the grey literature of the fields of agricultural and resource economics. The development of this…

In response to the technology and information explosion, practice-based learning and improvement is emerging within the medical field to deliver systematic practice-linked improvements. However, its emergence has been inhibited by the slow acceptance of evidence-based medicine among physicians, who are reluctant to embrace proven high-performance…