In August 1985, the Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy initiated a study of California's community college system to assess the adequacy of financial accountability in the system. Two hearings, interviews, and analyses of extensive data, yielded the following findings: (1) 25% of the community college districts had…

The report updates aspects of the 1977 report on California's Master Plan for Special Education. Reasons are sought for the intense debate over state funding for special education, which has substantially increased over recent years while special education enrollments have increased only modestly. In visits to nearly 100 local education agencies,…

Prompted by the increased possibility of teachers facing educational malpractice charges, this paper outlines the historical legal precedents through which plaintiffs have sought recognition for this new cause of action, the defenses established against it, and the rationale on which various courts have balanced their decisions. The paper also…

The Value-Added Program at Northeast Missouri State University is discussed. The value-added approach emphasizes the use of existing resources to enhance student learning, as well as the evaluation of student learning and personal development through regular assessment. To indicate the need for a value-added approach, the current crises…

A model for assuring quality in the development of course objectives and classroom and exit examinations is presented. The model was based on a pilot study with 131 faculty at the University of Central Florida. It was found that 91% of teaching faculty create 100% of the tests they use to evaluate student performance. The faculty seemed to use…

Limited to periodical literature, this annotated bibliography on school finance contains 81 references grouped in 5 categories: (1) policy and politica issues, (2) federal government, (3) state issues, (4) aid to nonpublic schools, and (5) accountability. Following the bibliographic citations, annotations range from 4 to 15 lines and conclude by…

This report contains information that resulted from a nationwide survey of vocational education funding. The information represents the responses of 44 states (excluding Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Utah, and Wyoming). An introduction details the procedures and provides a brief summary of the combined data from the 44 responding…

This paper looks at performance standards and related policies as tools for influencing the direction of local programming as well as ensuring accountability throughout the service delivery system. It suggests various ways in which the different components of the Job Training Partnership Act's performance management system can be used to promote…

Since the publication of "A Nation at Risk," curriculum leaders have been under increased pressure to make more prudent, informed decisions about allocating district resources that will directly or indirectly lead to increased student achievement. The decision-making process should include a thorough investigation of the best and most…

Plans for program assessment within the various units of the University System of Georgia are presented. The Subcommittee on Academic Degree Program Assessment believed the University System of Georgia should encourage and support a sustained effort to assess academic programs resulting in baccalaureate degrees, that the implementation of program…

Three presentations from the Third National Conference on Assessment in Higher Education are included. In "Assessment and Human Values: Confessions of a Reformed Number Cruncher," Alexander W. Astin, focuses on measuring education productivity, assessment lessons from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program, a talent-development…

This paper describes and evaluates a comprehensive school and instructional management system developed and implemented in one of the nation's largest and fastest growing school districts. Since implementing the system, standardized achievement scores have increased an average 20 percentile points. The system has components to: (1) clearly set…

An overview is provided of the responses made by Maryland's community colleges to growing concerns for accountability and the measurement of educational outcomes. First, the paper reviews the legislative initiatives and agency actions that characterized the state's movement toward a formalized, state-coordinated institutional assessment procedure.…

Conditional deregulation of the New York City (New York) public schools would balance the freedom that school principals need with the accountability that the public has a right to expect. Accountability for student achievement is the missing component in the operation of New York City schools. However, the web of New York State regulations,…

Information about current policy issues and relationships Between state governments and higher education is presented, with focus on the conceptual issue of accountability and autonomy. The relationship between state governments and colleges is continually evolving. Four sections cover the following: (1) leadership in higher education (the…