This report presents the findings of an invitational conference sponsored by the Office of Child Development to assess the implications of Family Assistance Plan (FAP) day care provisions from the viewpoint of program evaluation. The first section outlines the features of FAP day care, and the second section identifies accountability issues for…

Accountability was the keynote address at the second series of inservice clinics sponsored by the Arizona State Department of Education, Division of Career and Vocational Education. Two hundred and five persons attended the two-day clinics, with 90 attending the followup sessions. The overall objective was to have participants develop plans for…

Suggestions are offered for making business and financial affairs of educational institutions more personal and accountable to faculty, students, administrators, and the community. Objectives are identified for business managers to: (1) devise more ways for student, staff, and faculty participation in shaping the college culture and managing the…

The concern for accountability in New Zealand universities is discussed in terms of policy making. Several questions are addressed: What is the nature of accountability? How does it originate? What is the manner of its growth? What is its effect upon the university's character and functioning? What is meant by academic freedom? Why do academics…

In this review of current practices it is observed that administrators are evaluated for two major purposes--(1) to provide a basis for school districts' decisions at the conclusion of the evaluation period, and (2) to provide feedback on performance to allow administrator improvement. A comparison is made of evaluation material from five school…

This paper describes some aspects of the organization and management of 14 schools that have been participating in the voucher demonstration in Alum Rock, California. The kinds of alternative programs being offered, the allocation of decision-making within the participating schools, and the effects of parent choice are briefly discussed. An…

The scheme briefly delineated here is an attempt to solve three important personnel problems in school district administration. How does one (1) evaluate administrators in a decentralized system; (2) clarify and reconcile personal and organizational goals to achieve accountability; and (3) provide detailed feedback on the consequences of…

Accountability has at times seemed more a harbinger of conflict than a vehicle for improved student learning. While some argue that federal accountability measures have been only superficially utilized in many instances, federal mandates have probably done more to sensitize educators to accountability than any other stimulus. Different states have…

Boards of education and professional educators have been charged with the responsibility for being accountable for the educational dollars. This involves designing and utilizing a model of accountability that would focus on staff development whereby each individual is cognizant of his assignment, areas that need improvement, and assured assistance…

The third of three booklets dealing with educational accountability, this booklet describes a method for a school to use in reporting to its community and, in so doing, to revalidate its goals. The process for updating or revalidating a school's educational goals includes four steps: (1) involving the school in preparing a report of past effort to…

This report contains the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Program and Cost Effectiveness to the California State Board of Education. The committee was established by the California legislature for the purpose of developing a methodology for evaluating the cost effectiveness of various Federal and State educational projects. The report…

We should no longer be wondering if we should have performance appraisal, rather we should be researching the elements necessary for it to be successfully implemented and to ensure that we receive maximum benefits for improved learning for our students. Performance appraisal can be defined as "a positive, systematic, individualized due…

The work presented in this monograph is the author's own attempt to piece together a representative review of the literature on educational accountability; this attempt admittedly overlooks many works, does not always offer "the best" works (simply representative ones), and is patterned after the author's own observations of what is…

The least understood of complex systems is that which produces educated people. Superficially, many key elements of a manufacturing organization are part of the system: a product, product tolerance limits, methods for assessing product deviation, and a feed-back system for making compensatory adjustments. In layman's terms these elements are:…

In the fall of 1972, superintendents and principals in 21 school district with significant Puerto Rican enrollment were interviewed. The interviews (usually lasting over three hours) focused on the educators' attitudes toward Puerto Ricans as a people; their perceptions of the educational needs of Puerto Rican youngsters; views on accountability,…