This paper addresses how school effectiveness and school improvement, as they have been interpreted in United Kingdom central and local government policy, have affected schools and other educational bodies connected with them. It draws on Michael Power's book, "The Audit Society: Rituals of Verification," to understand the appeal of this…

Truckee Meadows Community College's (TMCC) (Nevada) Interim Report covers activities from October 1995 through August 2000. Part A addresses the institution's responses to the five general recommendations from the 1995 Northwest Accreditation site visit: (1) that the college incorporates missing components into one of its degree programs and…

This Parkland College (Illinois) Operational Plan supports the document titled Parkland College 1999-2004: A Strategic Plan for Excellence. Strategic goals and strategies are followed by specific operational action plans that support the completion of the given corresponding strategy. The four goals include: (1) to develop the highest educational…

The advent of advisory councils presents a promising opportunity for schools to maximize a largely untapped resource for increased educational effectiveness. This modular training guide, which supplements "Developing Quality Schools: A Handbook," shows practitioners how to set the context for and apply the consensus decision-making…

This paper examines the impact current maintenance and operations (M&O) practices have on U.S. school performance and offers possible opportunities for improvement through the judicious use of technology and methodology. The paper also presents a regional comparative analysis of M&O costs across the country. A list of equipment and their…

The report discusses the winter 2000 student satisfaction survey at Rogue Community College (RCC) (Oregon). The annual survey is an important tool by which the college measures its achievement in the areas of services, classes, and facilities. The primary purpose of the study is to obtain feedback from attending students regarding the issues that…

This paper reviews evaluations of social programs and major approaches to program evaluation. Its purpose is to examine the roles that philosophy, ideology, key audiences, preferred methods, and typical evaluation questions can play in the practices of contemporary evaluators. The report describes the Learning Connections Projects, a program that…

The National Literacy Strategy provides steady and consistent means of raising standards of literacy in England over a long period of time. The Strategy is made up of a Framework for Teaching, which gives detailed guidance to teachers, a supporting professional development program, and other community-based elements. This Review of Research…

This guidebook offers suggestions that can help district and school staff choose an approach for evaluating school-reform efforts. It is intended to provide further evaluation assistance to education stakeholders to ensure that schools conduct evaluation of whole-school reform efforts in a way that provides valid and useful information for…

The Barton County Community College Board of Trustees strives to emphasize: (1) outward vision rather than an internal preoccupation; (2) encouragement of diversity in viewpoints; (3) strategic leadership above administrative detail; (4) clear distinction between Board and staff roles; (5) collective rather than individual decisions; (6) the…

This book describes changes that must be made in central-office administration to facilitate the movement to site-based management. It is intended for educational administrators in central administration or for those who are planning to work as superintendents, business managers, or supervisors of curriculum and instruction. The book covers all…

This book provides guidance for school-board members who wish to enhance their effectiveness. It is structured around two central questions: What does an effective school board look like? and How can a board, with the support of its superintendent and community, become more effective? Part 1 describes the issues facing school boards and the major…

This paper describes the accountability system of the Minneapolis Public Schools (Minnesota) and presents the indicators used in the system. It also provides a practical application of two value-added models in the evaluation of effective schools and teachers for this large urban school district. These models are used to rank schools and teachers…

This paper reports findings from a study of the effectiveness of charter schools in California. The study's purpose was to report preliminary findings to the Legislative Analyst's Office relating to the educational performance, characteristics, and practices of charter schools and their sponsoring agencies. The study addressed six central…

This publication complements the "Education for All" program and is intended to provide a comprehensive and operational indicator for monitoring education. As a synthetic tool, the Educational Progress Indicator (EPI) facilitates the analytical assessment and projection work of educational planners, managers, actors, and policymakers. The EPI…