This policy brief analyzes state charter school laws in light of American Federation of Teachers criteria for strong legislation and examines current findings concerning whether charter schools are living up to the bright claims touted by their advocates or the dire consequences predicted by their foes. It also details emerging issues regarding…

This report from St. Louis Community College (Missouri) provides an update of the college's activities and outcomes in accordance with the North Central Association's (NCA) standards for institutional effectiveness. It also outlines the college's assessment operations for the next five years, identifying specific activities to develop the…

The public view of charter schools and their proposed mission will have a major impact on how well this school reform effort will be sustained. Support for charter schools in Pennsylvania has grown to such an extent that it may prevent demand for voucher systems. Parents dissatisfied with public schools elected to transfer their children to…

This report describes the accountability system for the Texas public schools and notes recognition the system has received. Since 1993, the state has had an accountability system for prekindergarten-12 schools. The addition in 1998 of an accountability system for educator preparation makes Texas the first state to create a prekindergarten-grade 16…

Bringing standards, assessment, and accountability from the state down to school districts is not the right way to implement new policies. Standards, assessment, and accountability must be thought of in a holistic way, and the complexity of the issues must be recognized. Educators must welcome the demand and directive that standards be…

Community colleges enroll almost half of all undergraduates in the United States. These two-year colleges manifest the American commitment to accessible and affordable higher education. With about 1,200 institutions nationwide, community colleges have made significant progress over the past decade in opening access and have become the critical…

The first decade of education reform in Massachusetts focused on setting--for the first time--rigorous, statewide academic standards, establishing high-quality tests tied to those standards, and successfully implementing a graduation requirement staked to minimally acceptable skills. Substantial new state funding provided support for the goals of…

A brief summary of the eleven recommendations that provide a framework for the practical reform of every major aspect of financing education in our society. (Author/MB)

One of the major concerns of the California school district represented in this case study centered on the possible legal problems associated with minimum competency testing (MCT). The responses of the district to the California law regarding MCT, and to six potential problem areas, are documented. (LC)

Four institutional/school value conflicts or dilemmas which educators face in confronting the dropout problem in high schools are analyzed: (1) public accountability vs. professional autonomy; (2) subjective vs. objective authority structure; (3) extended vs. specialized educational responsibility; and (4) diverse vs. common student work and…

The Instructional Systems Development approach for vocational education programs provides a methodology for gathering and analyzing job information, developing instructional materials, and conducting instruction and evaluation. This approach is based upon evidence that each job task can be identified and analyzed and that appropriate objectives…

The integration of planning and assessment procedures into educational administrative routines is viewed in relation to school surveys, a criteria-based means for measuring the operational efficiency of a school system. The school survey movement in the United States, characteristics of public school surveys, and the educational planning process…

A review of the literature addressing the subject of faculty workload under three topics is presented: (1) defining faculty workload; (2) elements of faculty workload and their relative weighting; and (3) faculty load formulas. Five "load laws" to be observed in the design of a faculty workload system are detailed. (MLW)

Two major assumptions concerning the future of American education focus on the difficulty in achieving bureaucratic and corporate reform and the correlation between school problems and societal problems. Other noteworthy issues include: (1) productive roles for individuals; (2) changing roles of American families; (3) teaching of values; and (4)…