Various procedures and guidelines have been suggested for the development and construction of criterion-referenced tests. The present paper proposes a comprehensive model which allows the user to identify and relate specific components which affect the optimal construction and implementation strategies of criterion-referenced tests. Furthermore,…

Faculty unionization in private schools and colleges poses a problem for already harried independent school administrators. The selection of a union, the end product of a series of difficulties, is a reaction to a situation that might have been altered had school administrators understood how unions come into being. This guide is intended to help…

How can the structure of a management system be reviewed? What specific data should be collected and what procedures should be followed? The specific data collection methodology consists of three steps: (1) description of process outputs, procedures, and inputs; (2) evaluation of effectiveness, needs, and priorities for change in the process; and…

The Open University of Great Britain provides home-based instruction via broadcasts and correspondence. Since technical arguments for the superiority of open-network, cable, or cassette television systems are inconclusive, the university has been forced to develop a decision-making model to determine which system is the most cost effective. For…

Schools must rid themselves of their image as institutions set apart from the community, run by professional educators who have little contact with the public. Public schools are financed by the entire community and ought to serve the entire community. The public has a right and responsibility to be well-informed on how its schools are run. Many…

The planning, programming, budgeting system (PPBS) is an instrument to help policy-makers assign priorities and allocate resources. It does not seek to computerize what is essentially a political process, nor is it intended that the statisticians and cost accountants take over functions that properly belong to the political decision-maker. PPBS is…

Because of the developmental characteristics of young children, the potential user of tests for educational evaluation needs to be keenly alert to the kinds of decisions which can be made on the basis of testing and to the limitations of testing when young children serve as subjects. The choice of a test to be used will depend on the type of…

This study focuses on the school district decision to initiate an innovative program. A natural experiment in the identification of school districts interested in initiating serious innovation is used to study the differences between school districts that were and those that were not considering innovation in one specific decisionmaking period. In…

This paper presents a case study of a sixth grade remedial math class which illustrates the thesis that only the "experimental attitude," not the "experimental method," is appropriate in the classroom. The thesis is based on the fact that too many independent variables exist in a classroom situation to allow precise…

This paper presents a conceptual framework for conducting followup studies as an integral part of an institutional evaluation program. Data obtained from followup studies should become part of an overall information system designed to provide data for institutional decision-making. Such data should be conveniently stored and readily available for…

In this book, an overall analysis of the urban crisis is presented and concrete suggestions are made for renewing urban education through a unique design called the "public-schools-of-choice system." Fundamentally a plan in which a range of optional school programs would be offered to diverse student groups in every community, the public schools…

This study examined relationships between adult education provisions and their use, especially in the public school context. Data were drawn from five school districts in ten states. Nationwide adult participation in various fields of study was surveyed, followed by involvement by government at all levels. Such concepts as investment versus…

Distinctions between political socialization as beliefs about ideals, beliefs about the realities of governmental structure, as attempts at cognitive consistency, and as affective orientations toward the system, map out most children's political orientations. The objects of these orientations are: 1) America as a nation and patriotic attachment;…

A study of the problems and decision making processes associated with the integration of New York City's public schools focuses on the reaction of the dominant white community to proposed integration policies. The research was funded by the U.S. Office of Education, Cooperative Research Program. The volume discusses the scope and method of this…

The definition of evaluation as the collection and interpretation of systematic information about the effectiveness of alternative educational practices suggests several functions of evaluation in education, including: (1) Assessment of the needs of learners, (2) evaluation of program plans, (3) assessment of congruence between plans and actual…