This briefing document provides background information regarding critical statewide (Missouri) issues in higher education. Following a general discussion of Missouri's educational needs and some possible goals for the system of higher education, the paper focuses on three themes: (1) institutional missions; (2) funding policies; and (3)…

Quality Performance Accreditation (QPA), as mandated by the Kansas State Board of Education, requires schools to document student learning through multiple assessment strategies and requires students to participate in state-developed assessments in reading, writing, mathematics, and science. The Kansas National Education Association has joined…

Three papers are presented that summarize current project findings from a study of the actual effects of introducing new forms of assessment at the classroom level. All focus on aspects of performance assessment as an alternative to traditional assessments. "Effects of Introducing Classroom Performance Assessments on Student Learning" by Lorrie A.…

This paper first explains outcome-based education and then considers specific questions related to serving gifted students in an outcome-based education school community, with special application to Pennsylvania. Outcome-based education is defined in terms of its emphasis on establishing learning outcomes, developing appropriate measures, and…

This is the final report on long range planning for financial support for and investment in New Jersey's state colleges. Opening sections summarize the findings of the Advisory Commission on Investing in the State Colleges charged with examining the issues, origins, membership, charge and general principles of that Commission, the economic, social…

The Educational Priorities Panel undertook a study to find out how funds are distributed among community school districts in New York (New York) and how resources are distributed to individual schools within the system. For the first time, in 1992, the New York City Board of Education published detailed budgets for the 32 community school…

The Assembly Education Committee of the New Jersey Office of Legislative Services held a hearing pursuant to Assembly Resolution 113, a proposal directing the Committee to investigate the skills testing program developed and administered to New Jersey children by the State Department of Education. The Committee was interested in the eighth-grade…

A recent court case, Sheff vs. O'Neill has centered Connecticut's attention on the fact that its public schools are largely segregated by race/ethnicity (80% of the state's minority student population are clustered in 18 of 166 school districts while 140 others are more than 90% white). This paper discusses financing the cost of higher standards…

As part of the educational reform movement, states and local districts have implemented outcomes-based accountability for student outcomes. Outcomes-based accountability systems are using results of both traditional assessments, such as norm-referenced tests, and authentic performance assessments in an effort to measure broad domains of student…

As part of a larger study of implementation of alternative assessment, a survey of parent opinions about standardized tests and performance assessments was conducted in three elementary schools. In the three participating schools, 3rd-grade teachers attended workshops on assessment development and implemented these practices in their classrooms.…

This report presents the results of a U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) review of lender and Department of Education controls over the accuracy of lender-submitted quarterly billings under the Federal Family Education Loan Program, also known as the guaranteed student loan program. It reports that both lenders and the Department of Education…

A national study examined the system of performance measures and standards that had been approved in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands in response to the 1990 Perkins Act. Descriptive survey and content analysis research methods were used to develop summary sheets categorizing the types of…

This book offers a comprehensive examination of the importance of educating professionals for practice in the 21st century and why and how that education needs to differ from the curricula of today. The book contains 13 chapters divided among 3 main parts: part I explores the broad social trends and political forces affecting professionals and…

Providing an overview of the educational and fiscal accountability system for community colleges in the state of California, this paper discusses the development of the system and describes the role of the Chancellor's Office (CO) of the California Community Colleges in accountability. Following a review of state and federal programs that include…

The 25 chapters in this handbook examine evaluation purposes, processes, and methods, and discuss how they shape the implementation and outcomes of evaluation. Following an introduction in chapter 1, the nine chapters in Part I consider the purposes of evaluation. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 are concerned with the evaluation processes that determine…