This book discusses the crusade for educational excellence since the early 1980s. It argues that the reform movement has failed to adequately address the extraordinary degree of alienation and apathy among secondary school students and teachers, and the schools' contribution to the problem, i.e., there exists a human element of the education…

This paper describes current school-funding policy issues in Washington State. The first part examines how Initiative 601, an initiative aimed at curbing state taxes and spending, will create fiscal instability for school districts. Difficulties include an expected growth in school enrollment exceeding population growth, an expected growth of…

This document summarizes presentations and discussions on school consolidation that took place at the 1994 Rural Education Conference held at Western Montana College. The summaries cover the following: (1) a panel discussion on the politics of school consolidation (influences on public opinion, need for balance between state and local control, and…

The results of various California community college financial audits and reviews for fiscal year (FY) 1989-90 are presented in this report. Section I explains the scope, purpose, and procedures of annual financial and compliance audits that are conducted to evaluate financial statements, encourage sound fiscal management practices, ensure proper…

The third annual report on the educational status of New York State-supported elementary schools and secondary schools for the 1989-90 school year is presented. Based on legal mandates, the report addresses enrollment trends; indicators of student achievement in reading, writing, mathematics, science, and vocational courses; graduation, college…

Chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) provides small amounts of relatively unrestricted federal funds to state and local agencies on a noncompetitive, formulaic basis; thus it has been hailed as the harbinger of the "new Federalism." The lack of narrow constraints and the simplified application and…

School systems have been forced to postpone purchases of new equipment and to defer repair and renovation projects. At present, 39 states provide support for local school district capital expenditures through five primary mechnanisms: full state assumption, state/local sharing, state flat grant, state equalizing grant, and state loans. In response…

New Jersey's Public School Education Act of 1975 requires local school districts to provide students with "thorough and efficient" educational opportunity. This report describes State initiatives carried out as of April 1986 to help urban districts comply with the act's mandate in the face of the particularly complex and concentrated…

This report describes New Jersey's continuing efforts to help urban school districts comply with the state's Public School Education Act of 1975 in view of the particularly complex problems which the urban districts face in complying with the act's mandate requiring all districts to provide their students with a "thorough and efficient"…

This digest, which is based primarily on the 1989 ERIC/CRESS monograph entitled "Achievement of Equity in Capital Outlay Financing: A Policy Analysis for the States," by D. Thompson G. Stewart, D. Honeyman, and R. Wood, addresses possible solutions to the emerging problem of capital outlay financing, with special attention to facilities…

Representatives from seven education policy centers housed in universities teamed up with policy analysts from each of their respective state governments to study how state policy influences who becomes a principal and how these leaders perform. This report represents a critical summary of case studies conducted in seven states: California,…

This report is an analysis of issues in Alaska's elementary-secondary education system, based on 25 position papers delivered at a Center for Northern Educational Research forum in 1973. The forum arose from the widespread perception of need for educational reorganization and a concern about equal educational opportunities for Native Americans.…

This report is designed to serve as the basis for the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges' proposed budget to be submitted to the state Department of Finance. It makes recommendations for Budget Change Proposals (BCP's) for the 1991-92 fiscal year. The BCP's are organized into five broad categories, corresponding to the Board…

Commissioned papers on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) have recommended new roles for NAEP, but its system of governance, as conceived in the 1960s, was not designed for all these functions. The NAEP Policy Committee, revised in 1978, never envisioned the current interest in a linkage system relating local and state…

Outgrowths of Mississippi's Education Reform Act of 1982 include the development of more stringent standards for both school accreditation and teacher certification. Successful completion of staff development has become the basis for recertification of Mississippi teachers and administrators, and, beginning in the 1984-85 school year, districts…