The Pennsylvania Educational Quality Assessment (EQA) is criticized for confusing the distinction between achievement and attitudes, the distinction between citizenship and conformity, and failing to incorporate moral education. For journal availability see annotation SO 504 171. (Author/DE)

Examined are the roles and progress over the past 3 years of state councils on developmental disabilities, as established by the Developmental Disabilities Act of 1970. (Author/DB)

In a state (North Carolina, 2006) that once pushed foreign language lessons as early as kindergarten, there has been a steady curtailing of instruction in second languages to devote more time and effort to basic reading and math instruction in English, two subjects heavily tested under the state's ABCs and federal No Child Left Behind…

Methods of improving the quality of business and commercial training courses purchased for adults through the Canadian Department of Manpower and Immigration are suggested by the author, who claims that major changes are required in present policies to get more placements from the training dollars expended. (Author/AJ)

Developed as part of the Indiana Least Restrictive Environment Project, this document is concerned with issues relating to the education and community integration of persons with substantial handicaps. The paper traces the development of the movement to provide those special education services necessary to integrate the disabled into the general…

The Maryland Accountability Testing Program Annual Report is a reference document for the public that includes a survey of current test results and the progress being made by Maryland public school students in grades 3, 5, and 8. The California Achievement Tests are the standardized achievement tests used to provide the information required by…

This paper provides guidelines in a question-and-answer format for developing systems of performance standards and accountability for vocational education. The seven questions answered in the guide are the following: What are performance measures and standards? What types of performance measures and standards should be developed? How many measures…

The paper addresses issues concerned with increasing state interest in encouraging public institutions of higher education to demonstrate educational quality through outcomes assessment and reports on the development and implementation of Tennessee's program of performance funding. Emphasis is on guidelines contained within a 5-year performance…

As more public money is spent on educational reform, the issue of school accountability arises more often. California high schools have traditionally participated in an external validation process to gain accreditation from the regional commission, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Schools that receive compensatory funding…

This paper presents a procedure for making high school teachers' assessments comparable across schools for graduation and college admission purposes. Findings are presented of an evaluation of the procedure conducted in Victoria (Australia) between 1981 and 1984. This procedure, called "consensus moderation," compares teachers'…

The role of state government in improving the quality of undergraduate education and the impact of related state actions on colleges are discussed. The background of state interest in quality is reviewed. Four forces accounting for state interest in the quality of higher education are identified: a spillover from concern about quality in…

Whether termed "quality indicators,""student outcomes," or "measures of accountability," the concern for educational effectiveness is surfacing as the new focus for community colleges. Key to the realization of educational accountability is the availability of solid research information that can assess to what extent results are being achieved.…

The amount of misreporting of Veterans Administration (VA) benefits was assessed, along with the impact of misreporting on the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant (BEOG) program. Accurate financial information is need to determine appropriate awards. The analysis revealed: over 97% of VA beneficiaries misreported benefits; the total net loss to…

Designed to promote new direction, accountability, and support for California's community colleges, this concept paper outlines six major legislative initiatives that should be integrated into the Community College Reform Act of 1986. The paper urges that: (1) the mission of community colleges must be given focus, and, for the first time,…

Developed as part of a three-year project funded by the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA), this manual is designed to present librarians in the State of California with an alternative, "sense-making" approach to assessing the information needs of patrons and potential patrons and to assessing accountability, i.e., whether…