This report contains seven articles on current issues in higher education and a separate faculty salary report for 1999-2000. Articles on the "Status of the Profession" are: (1) "Faculty Salaries, 1999-2000" (Suzanne B. Clery and John B. Lee); (2) "Unions and Faculty Governance" (Christine Maitland and Gary Rhoades);…

In February 2000, the Connecticut Department of Higher Education reported on accountability measures for higher education developed by the Higher Education Coordinating Council in response to the requirements of Public Act 99-285. That report identified 180 accountability measures for higher education. A copy of the executive summary of that…

First Things First is a comprehensive intervention to transform low-performing public schools with high percentages of non-White and at-risk students. It encompasses major changes in school structure, instruction, and accountability and governance. The program model, which is grounded both in research and the best practices of schools serving…

Walters State Community College (WSCC) (Tennessee), founded in 1970, began participating in Tennessee's Performance Funding Project in 1979. Changes made in the state funding formula in 1979 were intended to provide an impetus for improving the quality of education on Tennessee's college campuses. The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC)…

This multimedia package, which contains two audio CDs and a short informative booklet, examines the use of assessment to improve teaching and learning. The booklet contains the essay "Assessment-Driven Reform: A Leadership Approach" (Rhetta L. Detrich with Ed Janus and Sabrina W. M. Laine). It discusses the increasing importance of…

This testimony highlights two components of the 1998 amendments to the Higher Education Act (which were intended to enhance the quality of classroom teaching by improving training programs for prospective teachers and qualifications of current teachers). One component provides grants, and another, called the "accountability provisions," requires…

This study investigated community organizing for school reform in eight urban sites. The organizing involved intentional building of power among parents, youth, and community residents in low-income communities of color. Researchers surveyed 66 organizing groups and interviewed a subgroup of organizations. Overall, most groups defined their…

Almost half of Latino students in higher education are enrolled at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). While there is documentation of Latino participation in higher education, there is little research focused on Latino student success. One approach to study Latino student success is to focus on these institutions. This Brief describes the…

Achievement testing is the centerpiece of the state accountability systems mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Accordingly, the public attention directed towards achievement scores has largely eclipsed the crucial role that graduation rates play in NCLB accountability, at least until recently. As a new body of research on…

A recent five-state project, the National Forum on College-Level Learning, has demonstrated that learning, higher education's most important product, can be assessed in ways that make interstate comparison possible, that these assessments are consistent with other information known about the states, and that the results can be useful to…

The nation's higher education community is watching, waiting with anticipation to see the outcome of Virginia's 2005 Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act (Restructuring Act), which amounts to a significant renegotiation of the relationship between the Commonwealth of Virginia and its renowned public colleges…

This testimony by the Director of Education and Employment Issues of the Health, Education, and Human Services Division of the General Accounting Office (GAO) is based on a number of GAO studies of substance abuse and violence prevention programs for youth. The testimony focuses on: (1) the information available about substance-abuse and…

This book articulates a process by which schools and districts can design their own standards-based system of education and provides models for implementing standards-based education. Chapter 1 describes the history of and impetus for the standards movement. Chapter 2 addresses such issues as: Where will the standards come from? What type of…

Much of the recent discussion on basic education finance in Latin America points to a decline in education funding and to problems in the political economy of the education sector. This paper presents findings of a study that reviewed the existing framework for education finance and proposed a more organic linkage between education finance and…

This book, which is designed to help adult educators in all settings determine the effectiveness of the teaching and learning occurring in their programs, uses real-life case studies to illustrate the application of an evaluation and accountability model based on the principles and concepts of popular education. The book begins with a preface…