The role of technology and the measurement of educational progress are discussed, with an emphasis on the development of school report cards. Comments are made from the perspectives of (1) a member of a university community and (2) a researcher in evaluation and measurement. Efforts to formulate school report cards in Florida, California, and…

This document presents the Adult Literacy Plan for the state of Florida. Section 1 provides a rationale for the plan. Section 2 sets forth goals and objectives. The statutory intent is described in Section 3, which focuses on the Florida Model Literacy Program Act of 1987 (FMLPA). Section 4 presents a statement of the problem. It provides…

A wide gap exists between available information on community college students and the questions which are often posed about them. Since most available data focus on cross-sectional measures of enrollment and degrees awarded, they provide few insights into what happens to students who enter the colleges. The question-and-answer gap owes its…

This document is a model curriculum for the development of employment components for juvenile restitution programs. It provides a practical discussion of the experiences of five restitution projects around the country, lists their job components, and presents an overview of the common features of successful employment components. A step-by-step…

These standards are provided to promote the achievement of excellence in Maryland's public school prekindergarten programs. To that end, this document delineates standards of quality and provides a list of indicators that concretely describe what a program will look like if the standards are being met. The standards and indicators address seven…

Five options to simplify the needs assessment formula for Pell Grants are discussed, along with validation alternatives. Analysis focuses on three main effects of simplifications (data element reduction): the impact on the distribution of total Pell funds, the impact on individuals receiving Pell awards, and the impact of reducing error in the…

This evaluation was conducted to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the Psychological Services Program in the Dade County Public Schools, Florida. The program provides psychological evaluations for students under consideration for special education. This includes students with emotional, mental, and/or physical handicaps and gifted…

Views of the chief academic officers at Minnesota colleges concerning assessment were surveyed. Responses were received from 17 private colleges, 5 University of Minnesota campuses, 7 state universities, 18 community colleges, and 33 area vocational-technical institutes. For each type of institution, survey results are presented concerning: the…

This report summarizes the activities and accomplishments of Alabama's community, junior, and technical college system for 1983 to 1985. Following an introduction by the chancellor, Charles L. Payne, the report highlights major achievements in the following areas: (1) strategic planning and management, covering activities related to critical…

Merit pay for teachers is often proposed as a compensation system that will enable public schools to motivate teachers to pursue organizational goals. Yet the promise of merit pay is dimmed by knowledge of its history: most attempts to implement merit pay for public school teachers over the last 75 years have failed. The first part of this paper…

Summaries of conference discussions on state funding of public higher education are presented. Attention is directed to the practice and the context of state funding. The following topics are addressed: current state priorities and relationships between state government and publicly-supported institutions, funding for quality, incentives in the…

The Program of Research and Evaluation for Public Schools (PREPS) model is unique because all research and evaluation activities are conceived, conducted, and controlled by the local public schools, members of the consortium. It is a delivery system designed to improve school effectiveness. PREPS was developed as a result of the demand for school…

Although the main purpose of a school district's evaluation system is to improve employees' performance, the evaluation procedures and the supporting documentation must also serve as evidence in the termination hearings of an unsatisfactory employee. Accordingly, this chapter provides practical advice to school administrators concerning…

The Education Commission of the States (ECS) together with the American Association for Higher Education recently conducted five case studies of state-based approaches to assessment in undergraduate education in Colorado, Missouri, New Jersey, South Dakota, and Virginia. The case studies, in turn, are part of the Missouri Governor John Ashcroft's…

This document describes the progress made by the California public education system after the passage of Proposition 98 that established a stable funding base for education. The first of three sections discusses reforms made in the areas of accountability, curriculum, teaching, partnerships, and underrepresented students in colleges. The second…