Summarizes the issues arising in a (British) grant-maintained comprehensive school as it responds to its highly supportive community's needs. Saved from closure by opting out, Bankfield School is managed by a governing body devoted to community education and a principal and staff committed to local needs. School-community balance is being achieved…

The North Central Association of Schools and Colleges's periodic evaluation requirement is a fundamental stimulus for cooperative growth, improvement, and directed change. For one Michigan school district, the accreditation process provided assurance that its schools had met standards of educational quality, conducted a vigorous self-study, and…

Predictions about future directions in special education assessment include more research on fewer instruments, new types of assessments for identification of learning disabilities, and consumer demand for tests with acceptable technical characteristics. Teacher-oriented assessment predictions include increasing diversity of student performance,…

If future contracts with school district professional personnel can incorporate salary and compensation equity and evaluation systems that are fair, then the issues of accountability and value for the taxpayers will be favorably settled. (MLF)

One major obstacle to collaboration is perception of value--especially in urban areas where resources are shrinking and social problems are increasing. Sharing of resources is weighted by considerations of proximal benefit and proximal concern. This article shows how a New Orleans full-services school pilot project successfully garnered funding…

Explains to teachers and parish ministers the provisions of the "fair-use" copyright law of 1978, summarizing guidelines for copying books and periodicals, the educational use of music, and videotaping program and speakers. (AC)

Adult education in such settings as higher education, workplaces, and community-based organizations demand new approaches to accountability. The process involves answering such questions as What is learning? Who are the stakeholders? When should accountability be examined? For what are program managers accountable? and What tools and strategies…

Completion of the Vocational Preference Inventory by 97 British continuing educators showed their vocational interests were primarily creative and intellectual and least preferred activities were administration, marketing, and accounting. Because the latter are increasingly part of the job, conflicts and barriers to change could arise. (SK)

Discusses the collaboration among the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, the California Employment Development Department and community college practitioners to develop an administrative data-matching system to meet accountability mandates of the 1990 Perkins Act. Reviews the benefits of collaboration when matching student records…

Describes Bellevue Community College's (Washington) use of earnings data and partnerships to respond to a regional need for qualified technology employees and to develop new high-wage programs. Identifies issues that emerged in response to a state performance-funding measure tied to professional/technical graduates' earnings. (VWC)

Explores the use of state wage data in college planning, program improvement, and educational assessment. Explains how Southwestern College, which began collecting post-college wage data to gauge its economic impact in the community, found that these data were also valuable in assessing its career programs and institutional effectiveness. (EMH)

Calls for community colleges to collaborate with state and federal agencies to develop national post-community college earnings measures and student outcomes. Asserts that changes in pre- or post-college earnings result from many factors, and that attributing these changes to a single variable may lead to inaccurate conclusions. (EMH)

Describes two tiers of accountability reporting: (1) external reporting requirements; and (2) internal management diagnostics. Contends that the locus of control for Tier 2 reporting resides within the institutions, and that community college executives should concentrate more on using these types of administrative records more effectively. (EMH)

Explains the role and functions of England's Audit Commission, established in 1983 to promote proper stewardship of public finances and help public servants achieve economy, efficiency, and effectiveness. The commission's influence stems from its ability to link with other government initiatives, use of rigorous investigative methodology, and a…

Proposes guidelines for principals attempting to evaluate teachers' grading policies. Principals should understand teachers' perspectives, ask for copies of their grading policies, be wary of traits (like "effort") not measuring achievement, consider grading information quality, think about homework's role, expect teachers to use numbers and…