In a 1979 survey, the majority of the 73% responding superintendents and 38% responding school board chairmen in 269 randomly chosen small school districts across the nation indicated that program evaluation activity occurred in their districts and that evaluation information was generally desired by and available to the school board.…

As more emphasis is placed upon institutional research that provides information relating to long-term strategic planning, as well as to short-term operational considerations, program evaluation techniques that merely analyze past or current budget and enrollment statistics will become increasingly inadequate. Such techniques are based on data…

Accountability in education in Australia is considered, including some of the causes for the present concern for accountability of tertiary institutions and strategies that might improve the situation. Different views on the role of educational institutions, ambiguities associated with the notion of public accountability, and current difficulties…

A guide to cost studies in higher education is presented, with emphasis directed to the response of a four-year public institution to an externally mandated cost study. Cost studies are usually requested to guide budget allocations, either from an internal campus need or from outside pressures. Although much effort has been expended by various…

This paper looks at the state of education and the society in 1980 and compares major changes occurring in the last 15 years with predictions made in a 1967 publication called "Designing Education for the Future No. 2: Implications for Education of Prospective Changes in Society." The author identifies on-target predictions and major changes that…

Proceedings of the 1980 conference of the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education, which focused on campus bargaining the eighties, are presented. Contents are as follows: "The Economic Environment in the Eighties: the Necessity for Joint Action," by Gerie Bledsoe; "The Legal Environment: The…

Most state legislatures have either passed or taken under consideration for passage some minimum competency testing program. However, it is not clear that these legislative efforts will result in implementation programs that fulfill legislative intent. Throughout the United States legal challenges from students adversely affected by testing…

Six essays are collected on the subject of the quality of institutions and their instruction. In "When Does a College Deserve to be called 'High Quality'," by Alexander W. Astin, various perspectives of quality are outlined and commented upon: the mystical view, reputational view, resources view, outcomes view, and value-added view. Problems with…

The differentiation between efficiency and effectiveness in evaluating the performance of institutions of higher learning is examined and the role of management information systems in the decision-making processes of such institutions is explored. While efficiency is primarily concerned with cost minimization concepts, effectiveness is concerned…

Seven conflicts of purpose or procedure in the American higher education system are presented. It is argued that increasing concern for access has resulted in a new rivalry between proponents of open admissions and selective admissions, the ambitious versus the accepted. Whether the college should be designed for the student's self-fulfillment or…

A feasibility study has been conducted in Australia to investigate school and teacher objectives and practices in the development of oracy, to determine oracy skills agreed to be important, and to assess the feasibility and desirability of testing competence in oracy. The need for oracy assessment arises from a need for schools to account for…

A set of measures was developed to assess the quality of student effort in the utilization of the facilities and opportunities available in the college setting. The measures are based on the assumption that students are accountable for the amount, scope, and quality of effort they invest in using the available resources for their learning and…

Otis R. Bowen, Governor of Indiana, presents his view of the role of statewide boards of higher education. After reviewing suggestions proposed by an earlier speaker, Bowen focuses on four areas deemed important for statewide boards. The first area is scope; it is suggested that a review of existing programs be made to assess the viability of the…

There is currently a conflict between educational accountability and the distrust of standardized testing. Concern for the quality of education is based on evidence of students' academic dificiencies, the decline in test scores, and increasing education costs and school taxes. As a result of criticism, states have mandated, or are considering,…

The downward trend in educational quality, as evidenced by sinking Scholastic Aptitude Test scores and other evaluatory measures, is examined. Both secondary school teachers and university faculty are held accountable for lowering academic standards, and much critical attention is paid to the precipitant implementation of innovative educational…