This study determined school-level curricular, assessment, and accountability policies and practices in private and public day treatment and residential schools for elementary-age children with emotional or behavioral disorders (E/BD). A national random sample of 271 (56.45%) principals and 229 (47.70%) teachers responded to a mail survey. No…

As measured by the number of published articles in U.S. newspapers and wire services in the Nexis database, references to "adequate yearly progress"--the key benchmark for school performance under NCLB--nearly quadrupled between December 2002 and December 2003. State and local news outlets have devoted significant space to their state…

Schools of equal educational quality need not be identical, and the recent trend toward increased choice and diversity in American schooling has if anything made the system more equitable for children who previously had no choice but to attend poorly performing schools. That is not to say that all forms of school choice are good public policy:…

More than eleven hundred university students were surveyed to determine attitudes toward learning and accountability. Apathy, absenteeism, and grade inflation emerged as contributing to the lack of student accountability. This article suggests institutional changes to reanimate college classrooms: explicit expectations; smaller, engaged classes;…

In this study we explored how the science department shaped the relationship between a science department head, Mr Greg, and a teacher, Ms Horton, as they grappled with their expectations of, and responsibilities for, teaching and leadership in the daily life in the department. We found that, from their life histories and their positions in the…

This paper outlines the preponderant approaches to external quality evaluation, including the purpose, focus, object, rationale, and methods of external evaluations. Accountability, compliance and, in some countries, control are much more frequent rationales for external monitoring than improvement. Research on the impact of quality monitoring is…

Many Latin American countries have started actions to promote a higher education quality assurance system. Central America appears as a regional effort that includes universities from all seven countries under the initiative of Central American University Higher Council (CSUCA). After focusing in quality management and self-study processes, CSUCA…

Opportunistic attempts have been made by successive governments to establish--some would say impose--sets of criteria against which the effectiveness of not-for-profit organizations like schools can be gauged. Most have been subjective: the extent of staff involvement in decision-making, the appropriateness of the leadership shown by senior…

State leaders have just begun counting the billions of dollars it will take for schools in the Gulf Coast region to recover from Hurricane Katrina. Schools around the country, meanwhile, continue to welcome the estimated 300,000-plus students displaced by the storm--some 50,000 of whom were learning that their home schools would likely be closed…

Early 20th century Progressive reformers established elected school boards as a means of shielding public school systems from the politics and patronage of corrupt city governments. Citizens, rather than political dons or their favored appointees, would govern the community's schools with the community's interests at heart. Today, however, elected…

This paper, part of a larger case study of beginning teachers and mentors, describes the concerns of four teachers throughout their stages of development in first-year teaching. They and their mentors were interviewed at three intervals in the school year to obtain perceptions of beginning teacher concerns. Beginning teachers also kept journals of…

States are increasingly turning to standardized testing to hold colleges accountable for student outcomes. Currently, about half of the states require public colleges to conduct some type of assessment or accountability measure. Assessments generally fall into two categories: high-stakes tests, which may affect the progress of individual students,…

The implementation of the No Child Left Behind accountability process has allowed schools to fail to report academic progress for significant groups of students. This study examined the impact of No Child Left Behind on accountability for special education students in small rural schools within a state. The study used both qualitative and…

The state with the largest public higher education system in the nation takes important steps toward establishing a statewide accountability model.

Higher education accountability has public trust dimensions that require communicating in ways the public can understand.