In higher education especially, the obsolescence of skills, knowledge, and competencies in teaching dictates the need for continuous staff development. Given the assumption that superior and innovative instruction that motivates student learning can shape institutional identity as well, this book provides selected readings that advocate a…

This paper presents the sum of both individual research and the five papers specially prepared for the Upper Midwestern Region Interstate Project Constracting Conference (Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 9-10, 1972.) In particular, the various sections that comprise the publication speak to those aspects of performance contracting suggested for the…

This report explores the evolutionary process of the concepts of accountability and performance contracting from their inception through mid 1970-71. Six major topics are discussed: (1) ideological, managerial, and pedagogical underpinnings, (2) definitions and history of the concepts, (3) five performance contracting projects, (4) the political…

This paper outlines the concept of accountability, presents performance contracting as an external response to accountability, and examines the impact of planning, programing, budgeting, and evaluation systems (PPBES) in an accountable system. The major thesis of the paper is that PPBES assists in controlling accountability by specifying…

Criterion referenced testing has received considerable theoretical, but only limited practical, application. Grand Forks School District has developed mathematics criterion referenced tests for grades three to nine. The tests are keyed to a hierarchical set of approximately 50 performance objectives and 40 individualized contracts per grade level.…

This research project represents an attempt to capitalize on the study opportunity provided by the simultaneous operation of seven teacher training programs by one institution and to cope with problems which normally have plagued teacher training program evaluation efforts: lack of validation of performance criteria, nonequivalence of trainees in…

The General Accounting Office (GAO) evaluated the Office of Economic Opportunity's (OEO) performance contracting experiment because of its potential impact in education. Performance contracting has been defined as an agreement between a local education agency, such as a public school, and a private educational firm, known as a learning system…

This innovative, individualized program at Madonna College is based on a systems approach to learning. The primary objective of this program is providing the students with specific competency goals and helping them to acquire these goals. The most important component of the program is a selected list of critical competencies based upon a model of…

This report evaluates the Grand Rapids Public School (GRPS) experience with performance contracting. The report describes the first two years of the GRPS performance contracting experience, assesses the accomplishments of those two years, and describes the third year (1972-73) program. The author concludes that the contracts were successful and…

Starting with the second semester of the 1971-72 school year, the Phoenix Union High School System accepted a performance contract with Educators Service Incorporated of Edina, Minnesota. The contract enabled the district to implement a one-semester program, which was a multimedia course consisting of 36 thirty-minute videotaped sessions which…

Two baccalaureate-level programs that sought to make their educational outcomes explicit within competency-based education (CBE) are compared. The CBE programs in social work, the learning contracts involved, and assessment techniques are described for programs at the University of Montana and the University of Georgia.

Security guards contracted at a flat fee from an agency can cost less than schools hiring their own guards; however, administrators must make sure that the agency is properly licensed, conducts its own training program, and is heavily insured. (Author/MLF)

Describes the use of learning contracts in developmental reading classes. Outlines the basic tenets of contract design, and provides details and examples of non-negotiable, partially negotiable, and more negotiable contracts. Notes the possible gains of an independent/self-monitored approach and offers several management tips and cautions. (MM)

The Eastern Washington University Department of Education's merit pay system is described. The system closely resembles learning and grade contracts used by undergraduate students. This system rewards desired behaviors, individualizes rewards, and makes merit pay available to all who achieve designated goals. (MLW)

Community schools are state-funded public schools, exempt from various rules and regulations in exchange for increased accountability or student performance. This Legislative Office of Education Oversight (LOEO) report examines Ohio's first 15 community schools that began during the 1998-99 school year. All 15 schools were successful about…