This guide presents a plan for excellence in education within Mississippi's public university system. It is based on system goals and priorities established by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL), and is designed to facilitate planning, budgeting, and decision-making processes at the system and university levels.…

The purpose of this paper is to provide a foundation for the planned discussion of how the funding of Arizona community colleges might be improved to enable the colleges to better serve the needs of their communities and address the priorities of the State. This paper considers three of the most common funding sources: (1) state appropriations;…

The New York City Board of Education has implemented a school quality review system called Performance Assessment in Schools Systemwide: Essential Elements of Exemplary Schools (PASS). The PASS process provides a set of standards of exemplary educational practice and a model for assessing schools in relation to these standards. The process is…

This paper discusses strategies related to the challenge of program accountability for subject matter knowledge and competency among beginning teachers. It focuses on reaching common understandings of three key concepts (accountability, subject matter knowledge, and competence), presenting them from the perspective of the state of Florida. Florida…

This paper examines the complexities surrounding teacher evaluation in general, and the evaluation of preservice teacher educators affiliated with a university teacher education program in particular. It focuses on the purposes of evaluation, whether those purposes are complementary or in conflict with one another, how the evaluation is related to…

California state law requires a sponsoring agency to determine whether charter schools nearing the end of their term should have their charters renewed. Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) was one of the first to grant charter school status, and consequently among the first to renew school charters. The district contracted with WestEd, a…

This document discusses the Department of Education's (DOE) fiscal year 1999 financial audit results; the relationship between the audit findings and the potential for waste, fraud, and abuse; and the results of the General Accounting Office's (GAO) review of the DOE's grantback account. The DOE's financial activity is important to the federal…

This document contains four issues from volume 9 (1999-2000) of the St. Petersburg Junior College (SPJC) Office of Institutional Research Research Brief. Number 1 (September 1999), "Comparison of Faculty Adjunct Salaries in Florida Community Colleges", contains 2 tables. Table 1 shows the top five community colleges in adjunct salaries…

This bibliography includes information on five topics. The first topic is "Background Reading in the Social Context of American Schooling." The second topic is "School Reform Since Release of the 'Nation At Risk' Report." The third topic "Education Standards," focuses on "Standards-Setting: In Core Subjects," which looks at "The Arts";…

The Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) Financial Activity & Condition Taxpayer Summary (FACTS) provides a brief report on the financial operations of the college. The summary is prepared for the local community, which provides property and business tax and other support to WCTC. Press releases on the FACTS availability were sent out by…

This paper provides an overview of the performance indicator-based accountability and funding mechanism implemented in the higher education system of Alberta, Canada. The paper defines the terms accountability and regulation, examines the use of performance indicators to demonstrate accountability, and explains how performance indicator-based…

This document summarizes recommendations contained in five recent reports on California higher education and is directed to policymakers involved in higher education planning. The five reports were intended to raise public awareness of the major challenges facing higher education in California and to provide policymakers and others with various…

This paper describes the method that the Minneapolis Public School system (MPS), Minnesota, uses to measure school and student performance. MPS uses a multifaceted system that both captures and accounts for the complexity of a large urban school district. The system incorporates: (1) a hybrid model of critical indicators that report on level of…

This book offers preservice and inservice teachers an examination of ethics and a number of philosophies on how to teach morality. It discusses he extent to which teaching is intertwined with moral issues and explores the fundamental concepts of morality and virtue. It also explores the various and occasionally conflicting viewpoints on moral…

As state governments realize that ignoring the child welfare status quo will victimize more children and increase state agencies' difficulties, they have begun implementing various reform ideas. Efforts to reform the family court system face many obstacles (turf battles among government agencies, inadequate numbers of attorneys, and lack of…