Because an educated citizenry is crucial to our society, quality education should be guaranteed and not left to chance. (Author)

The use of statistics on grades as a criteria for accountability is limiting and misleading. Alternative indicators of school performance are suggested, including the Scottish Education Data Archive. (JMF)

Argues that the entrance of research libraries into the "arena," i.e., the area of public responsiveness, is a necessary adjustment to current realities. The special situations of patron-sponsored, affiliated, and independent research libraries are discussed in this light, using the Folger Library in Washington, D.C., as an example. (JD)

Presents excerpts from presentations at the Wingspread Center. These presentations argue numerous issues in the minimum competency movement. (IRT)

Accountability in education is a no-nonsense, bottom-line look at school responsibilities, school promises, school programs, school costs and school results. (Author)

Describes efforts by the Michigan State Board of Education to implement a Six Step Accountability Model as a method for developing goals for public education. (RK)

Deprecates accountability because it is unfair to hold teachers accountable for outcomes they cannot control, the application of the concept tends to escalate teachers' concern for easily measured outcomes, and continuation of the trend is likely to narrow and harden the school's responses to the society. (Author/IRT)

A recent project in higher education in which evidence of falsification was found is described along with two other projects that demonstrate the possibility for falsification. An advantage of standardized questionnaires and machine techniques for scoring and reporting is the low cost, but the need to detect and prevent falsification raises…

Because they fail to set consistent goals or direct funds toward solving systemic problems, U.S. schools are not structured productively. A productive educational system would focus all its energies on a limited number of clearly defined, stable goals and align its functions to achieve them. Productive school leaders would establish standards,…

The focus in this book is on steering a course between rigorous definitions and theory and applied attempts to measure costs and benefits in the real world. As an introduction to the concepts underlying cost-benefit analysis, this volume is well-written and comprehensive for a book of its length. (SLD)

Provides a qualitative analysis of the Kentucky school-based performance award program at four elementary and two secondary schools. Teachers were motivated to modify teaching approaches to enhance student performance, but seemed to be experiencing high stress levels. Teachers and principals at the six award-winning schools reported attitudes and…

Reviews the use of licensure examination results as performance indicators of graduate and undergraduate programs. Contains appendix showing information on how examination results are reported in selected disciplines. (17 citations) (JDI)

The following obstacles to education reform are the most significant: (1) the system does not reward risk-taking; (2) the system resists oversight; (3) it is not accountable for failure; (4) too few resources are spent in the classroom; and (5) consumers of education are no match for the system. Old-fashioned bureaucratic monopolies continue to…