Included in this document is an address by the governor of Pennsylvania to fellow citizens stressing the need to improve the quality of public education in the state. Presented in outline format, the agenda has three main sections. The first section discusses shared responsibility between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the state's boards of…

Responses of secondary mathematics teachers and mathematics educators to a survey are summarized. Survey questions concern the effect of statewide assessment and curricular activities on curricular effectiveness and student achievement. (SD)

Compares the proportions of staff in various types of positions in public K-12 education in two Australian states and two Canadian provinces. Joint state department of education/school district (decentralized) education systems appear to require the allocation of a higher proportion of personnel and salary resources to administrative and support…

Arising out of the reform of school inspection are questions about whether inspections are necessary, how accountability and promotion are to be managed if they are not, and whether inspectors are justified in feeling insecure. (Author/WM)

The 1986-87 report describes the purpose, operation, and accomplishments of the programs of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB). The report begins with a review of the Central Administration and Support Services Division of the USDB, and a description of the Utah Project for Deaf-Blind Children and Youth. A section on the Utah…

The purpose, operation, and accomplishments of the direct service and support programs of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB) during 1987-88 are described. The report describes Central Administration, the Support Services Division, and the Business Office of the USDB. Other chapters describe the Utah School for the Deaf and the Utah…

A descriptive study provides information in seven sections on regional educational service agencies (RESA's) in Pennsylvania (where they are called Intermediate Units or IU's). The information is derived from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, various IU's, and initial introductory interviews with current and former state department staff.…

This paper delineates the purposes of a symposium that was based on a major study of the California School Improvement Program (SIP). The problem of increasing the capacity of schools to implement reform efforts is conceptualized. To explore this issue, a conceptual framework was developed, based on the case study and survey data from the first…

Pennsylvania's school districts and area vocational-technical schools are required to submit long range plans to the Pennsylvania Department of Education every 5 years. These plans are intended to direct resources toward improvement of educational programs and services, school management, and student achievement. The planning process is to include…

A new means of funding school operations known as advanced school funding allows Oklahoma schools financing during the temporary cash shortfalls. The program consists of the Oklahoma Development Authority issuing revenue bonds purchased by E. F. Hutton and Company, Inc., which then sells the tax free bonds to investors throughout the country. A…

The Urban Initiative of the New Jersey Department of Education commits large numbers of its staff to a variety of efforts to improve schooling in the State's urban areas. It also represents an effort to develop a programmatic response that is rooted in research to the problems of urban education. In broad outline, the initiative is a…

This manual provides suggestions for implementing a school improvement process using selected program and content areas from the Michigan State Board of Education-approved K-12 Program Standards of Quality. The suggestions were made by school district staffs that took part in the field test of the document during the 1983-84 school year. The first…

The survey discussed in this report was sent to State education agencies (SEA) and focuses primarily on their activities in providing both assistance and direction to local school districts concerning substance abuse education. Tables provide statistical information on: (1) existence of state requirements on substance abuse education, minimum…

This paper discusses the politics of retrenchment in education in Manitoba, Canada, in response to public calls for government accountability. In a successful effort to enhance the system's educational objectives, Manitoba Education sustained a level of support that allowed the province's individual divisions and districts to revise their method…

A description is given of the West Virginia Microcomputer Educational Network in the context of excellence in education and how it enables educators in schools, colleges/universities, and the State Department of Education to access and input to an information base of research findings, successful practices, and operational programs related to…