Trends toward increasing federal involvement in higher education and the potential for additional federal mandated reporting are discussed. Areas where the relationship with the federal government has aided institutions are noted, as well as the possibility of harm to innovation and creativity. Historical developments in which government became…

This paper discusses key aspects of the British experience with school review and evaluation, which influenced the development of the South Australian framework for school evaluation. The discussion combines the requirements of accountability and development within a framework of quality assurance. The paper describes shortcomings of the internal…

School report cards can help focus the conversation about a school's long-range goals and how they might be achieved, and then provide the means to track progress from year to year. This document describes the characteristics of good report cards, the relationship of report cards to local decision making, and ways to link reports to school…

This digest discusses the development and implementation of performance indicators in higher education, focusing on the factors driving increased demand for accountability in higher education and the use of performance indicators. It discusses the public and political concern for increased emphasis on undergraduate education, productivity,…

With the growing interest in educational accountability and outcomes-based education, there is an increasing emphasis on testing. This paper proposes the development of school-achievement profiles as a tool to assist with the interpretation and implementation of test results for targeting instructional improvement efforts. The study employed test…

The New American Schools Development Corporation (NASDC), a private nonprofit corporation, was created in 1991 to fund the development of new designs for high-performance schools. Since 1993, the designs have been implemented at over 200 schools nationwide. This book presents the findings of a formative evaluation conducted by RAND Corporation for…

Presenting guidelines for student attendance accounting developed by the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges, this manual provides an update to the original guide published in 1983. Chapter 1 explains general items such as the academic calendar, admissions policies, student classification by enrollment status, and conditions…

This paper contains executive summaries of the productivity-quality efforts of nine independent Illinois colleges and universities. The summaries typically include descriptions of the type of student population served, the type of campus, the institution's mission statement, and major areas in which degrees are offered. Specific initiatives to…

This paper, from the Proprietary Schools Advisory Committee, is an executive summary of reports on the productivity-quality efforts of nine Illinois proprietary institutions. For each school, productivity summaries are presented for instructional, public service, and research units as well as academic and administrative functions. Examples of…

This report contains the findings of the first year of a 2-year Hudson Institute study of U.S. charter schools, which focused on their startup problems, solutions to the problems, and the policy environments in which such schools are most likely to thrive or falter. Data during 1995-96 were derived from site visits to 35 charter schools, which…

This book presents ways in which a program of individualized professional development can be designed to function within the existing public school administrative and contractual structure. Eight models for professional development are presented, with a ninth option combining approaches: instruction-centered staff development, focused-training…

This handbook describes the Edison Project, a private company that was formed in 1991 to establish partnerships with school districts across the United States. The Edison Project tailors Edison's school design to the local community's needs; upgrades school facilities and brings in sophisticated technology; takes responsibility for daily operation…

Prepared in response to a request from the Iowa state General Assembly, this report outlines major issues facing the state's community colleges and provides recommendations for increasing effectiveness and accountability. Following introductory materials, the report describes the five major guiding principals in the development of Iowa's community…

The Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) represents one of the most comprehensive pieces of educational reform legislation enacted in the United States. This article describes a series of unintended consequences that are the direct results of inconsistencies both between and within components of the reform. The inconsistencies have made certain…

There has been a rapid increase over the past 5 years in both the number of charter schools in the United States and the enthusiasm for the concept. Most research about charter schools has not addressed how charter schools create and sustain high-quality learning communities. This paper presents findings of a study that investigated how learning…