This report is intended primarily for educators who have the responsibility for conducting or managing a needs assessment at the school or district level. Although most of the material relates to local assessments in the elementary and secondary schools, some information has been included on statewide assessments and on emerging efforts in…

This research brief lists and indexes materials on State education legislation and activity by subject and State. The information was obtained from answers to questionnaires sent to State education agencies, legislative service agencies, teacher organizations, and school board associations. Other information was obtained from materials sent during…

The seminar on assessment and accountability in education was believed to be the first national conference concerned with these coordinate issues. The participants generally concurred that accountability is a many faceted phenomenon with varying interpretations. It was further agreed that the major obstacle to setting up measures of accountability…

A series of writings describing some contemporary thoughts about training professional educators and some efforts to meet changing needs are collected in this issue of "Viewpoints." An article on methods of inquiry, written by Ivor Davies, is the first chapter. The problems of the bilingual Latino, with respect to his American schooling, are…

This collection of articles looks at projects which have attempted to deal with change in the school organization. Some projects have succeeded in defining, shaping, and refining what happens in the school; others, less successful or unworkable, have been rejected. In either case, the administrator and his entire organization have become more…

The seventh in a series of reports dealing with accountability, this bibliography provides the reader with a comprehensive overview of the body of literature, from theoretical model design to the effects of specific factors such as student's self-concept, reinforcement, socioeconomic status, etc. The citations are divided into three categories.…

To assist principals in developing a better understanding of their role in improving the quality of vocational education in their schools, 85 principals attended a 5-day institute during which they considered ways and means of successfully implementing vocational education as an integral part of the total school program. Major presentations were:…

This text is of a series of three handbooks, each intended to provide busy educational executives with a brief, practical overview of one major issue or movement. This book aims at providing both the theoretical base of the management by objectives and results (MBO/R) system of management and suggestions for its practical application. The author…

This is a guide to the nature, purpose, and potential uses of 12 course goal collections produced by the Tri-County Goal Development Project through the cooperative efforts of school districts and intermediate education districts of three counties in the metropolitan Portland, Oregon, area. The Project initially fostered collections of educational…

This study illustrates the underlying premise that certain classes of participants may be adversely affected by organizational experiences in ways that are not normally recognized. Schools belong to a set of organizations whose primary function is to socialize organizational members. This function is described as the providing of a process to a…

An evaluation is made of the technological, analytical, social, and political forces which operate on the public schools and influence their disposition toward the utilization of technology. Three chapters are devoted to delineating the manner and extent to which technology, accountability, and behaviorist learning theory interact. The potential…

Although issued by the National Assessment program, this collection of interpretations of its citizenship findings does not necessarily reflect the views of the program. It is not the purpose of the program to interpret its own findings, but rather to encourage widespread examination of the assessment results through such efforts as this document.…

The procedures and results of a pilot program in a statewide assessment of learning in Colorado are presented. Findings and conclusions of the project in which the Common Status Measures of the U.S. Office of Education were administered to 12,000 pupils in 31 school districts concurrently with objectives-referenced items developed by the Colorado…

Discussion of the nature of student-teacher contracts pertaining to academic work to be performed by the student and evaluated by the teacher covers a wide range of related issues in this article. The nature of contracts, evaluation procedures, instructional materials, community attitudes, and the individualization of instruction are commented on…

Three speakers from the Rutgers Guidance Conference explore facets of the concept of accountability, including why it enjoys its present popularity, how it has developed, how it applies to guidance programs, and how it is measured. Accountability has a variety of functions in a school system. The speakers cite its possible use as a means for…