Arguments for replacing standardized multiple choice tests with performance assessment that encourages teachers to devote more attention to higher order skills, and thus results in increased student achievement, are based on three assumptions: (1) the teaching profession, key decision makers, and parents will accept performance assessment measures…

When created and operated appropriately, school-site councils can be a very useful component of school renewal. Councils are difficult to create, since members must shift roles, compromise strongly held beliefs, and invest considerable time, energy, and know-how. Advantages of group decision making are bringing diverse experience and expertise to…

This report examines workforce preparation in the state of Illinois within the following general areas: (1) the current and future workforce preparation needs of business; (2) higher education's role in relation to the roles of secondary education, business, labor, and government in providing workforce preparation programs; and (3) the…

This paper clarifies the problems of meaning and translation into practice of concepts of "quality" in higher education by examining a quality improvement program at Griffith University (Queensland, Australia). The paper notes that Australian government agencies have advanced a quality assurance (QA) approach concerned with the…

This report presents six recommendations determined by the California Postsecondary Education Commission to be of highest priority for legislative initiatives or amendments to existing legislation in the 1990 legislative session. A discussion of each issue precedes the formal recommendation. The recommendations address the following areas: (1)…

A rationale for school-based evaluation, criteria for a sensible evaluation and assessment system, and a systematic process for implementing an evaluation and assessment system are presented. School-based evaluation can be used as a management tool and a means of improving aspects of teaching. Sensible evaluation must be aligned with school goals,…

At North Dakota State University annual follow-up studies have been conducted on teacher education graduates of the secondary teacher preparation program since 1963. Each year, survey forms are sent to all teacher education graduates of the previous year and to the principals or superintendents of graduates who are teaching. The purpose of the…

This report lists recommendations made to the state administration, legislature, and various education administrative bodies, addressing the education of Indian people in Montana. The State of Montana and its education entities are asked to establish specific objectives, action plans, and evaluation strategies to complete the validation process of…

Accountability is high on the education reform agenda as taxpayers, business leaders, and elected officials demand proof of results. Although several states show promising improvements in their accountability arrangements, none has in place a comprehensive system. Such a system includes three fundamental accountability elements: (1) clear and…

This report describes the current spending priorities of the Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Public Schools (MPS) and suggests how the same amount of money could be better spent on educating children. The report's major findings include the following: (1) of an average $6,451 expenditure per MPS pupil in 1989-90, only 26 percent finds its way into the…

This report presents a plan for an Educational Assessment and Accountability System for Hawaii. The purpose of this plan is to provide an analytical as well as a descriptive account of the condition of public education in Hawaii. It is meant to be a vehicle to provide the means by which educational outcomes can be examined in light of contextual…

The Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security (SRKCS) Act, voted into law in late 1990, requires colleges and universities to disclose graduation rates and statistics on campus crime. For institutions offering sub-baccalaureate vocational and technical degrees, the Act supersedes Track Record Disclosure (TRD) Regulations requiring institutions to…

Findings of the National Commission on Testing and Public Policy concerning problems in testing are reported. Recommendations are proposed for restructuring educational and employment testing to help people develop their talents and become more productive, and to help institutions become more productive, accountable, and just. Over a 3-year…

Issues that were raised during the student unrest years of the 1960s and 1970s and that still are pertinent to the social order of American colleges and universities are considered. It is suggested that higher education has no legal purpose to alter society and does not have the power or means to reshape it or even to resolve any basic social,…

A brief overview of the recommendations of the National Commission on Student Financial Assistance is presented. The Commission was asked to answer 24 congressionally determined questions, and to report its findings on each within 2 years. Major findings and recommendations are presented concerning: satisfactory academic progress, the in-school…