The issues underlying the trend toward educational consumerism are examined along with federal directives initiated to protect students. What they are being protected from is also considered. Whether institutions can effectively respond to public pressure is addressed. (Editor/LBH)

The Philadelphia School District has a five-step program of site-based-management prerequisites for schools: (1) absolute support from the top administration; (2) clear and fair allocation formulas on which each school's budget is to be based; (3) universal understanding of any restrictions, rules, or guidelines; (4) full explanation of budget…

Describes three rhetorical strategies used by postmodern corporations to construct social realities and obscure individual causation and control: decentering, deindividuation, and distanciation. Shows that the postmodern corporation mediates and controls the reality of individuals; therefore it, and not its members, should be viewed as morally…

A program developed by the Association for Curriculum and Supervision Development and Group Decisions Support Systems, Inc., aims to enhance accountability and improve school district/community communication. Scoreboards for Schools addresses inadequacies of current financial reporting systems by providing tightly linked planning strategies for…

Opening the communication lines among a school district in Derby, Kansas, and two other local governmental units--the city of Derby and the Derby Recreation Commission, led to a multitude of cooperative efforts that were fiscally responsible and beneficial for the entire community. (MLF)

Inspired by teachers' concerns about the inadequacy of today's academic curriculum, this special section passes the buck up instead of down. Two articles explore what teachers might accomplish if no longer held captive by outmoded college admission requirements. Articles by education professors from Stanford University and the University of Oregon…

Questions whether "scientific" theories of educational management are compatible with the goals of an autonomous (British) education service. Discusses recent educational administration theories and their implications for social justice and educational diversity. Applies social-choice theory to organizational resourcing problems and…

In the late 1980s, radical administrative changes (setting up boards of trustees and relaxing zoning restrictions) were undertaken in New Zealand's education system to make schools more responsive to their communities. This paper describes the consequences of implementing these policies, using evidence from a study of a particular high school.…

By requiring limited-English-proficient students and students with disabilities to meet the same targets at the same times as all other students, the NCLB imposes a one-size-fits-all approach that ignores the individual child. Challenges school leaders to take care not to blame the students and still hold themselves accountable for continual…

Examines the coverage, content, and customers of higher education performance reports, along with their purposes, priorities, initiation methods, and emerging changes in their style and substance. (EV)

Compares the results from the National Center for Public Policy in Higher Education's state report cards and state performance reports, and notes that the states with performance reports received no better grades than those without them. (EV)

Reviews the prospects, problems, and possibilities of performance reporting in higher education and discusses two fundamental flaws in performance reporting. (EV)

Discusses the educational reform context that gave rise to the Baltimore City-State Partnership, noting how the Partnership can inform standards-based reform efforts in other jurisdictions. Reviews the central components of standards based-reform and makes informal observations concerning the impact of the Baltimore City-State Partnership. (SM)

Describes changes in governance discourse and practices in Icelandic primary and secondary education in the late 1990s. Budget reform, curriculum changes, and school-based self-evaluation aimed at a greater financial and pedagogical accountability of school professionals, especially principals, has changed the role of principals and teachers in…

Michigan allows four different entities to authorize charter schools: state public universities, community colleges, intermediate school districts, and local school districts. To ensure establishment of high-quality standards, Central Michigan University developed a rigorous two-phase chartering process. Charters avoid "best" approaches…