The function of trustees is discussed, based on in-depth interviews with trustees and presidents of 10 private liberal arts colleges. After a brief overview of the trustee mandate and role and of recent attempts to redefine that role, major models of campus governance are summarized. In considering how boards diminish the presidency, attention is…

This paper argues that cautious and participatory desegregation efforts yield less desirable outcomes than either sweeping, authoritative desegregation policies or no imposed effort at all. The author proceeds to support these claims by identifying 10 goals of school desegregation and examining the rules and consequences of incremental and…

This report concerns the governance of the structure of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), especially the law and the role of the Assessment Policy Committee (APC). The major sources of evidence include interviews with APC members and National Institute of Education (NIE) staff, minutes of APC meetings and historical documents…

Faced with an enrollment decline of over 50 percent since 1962, the board of the public school system in Seattle (Washington) decided in 1981 to close 18 of the district's 112 schools. This report details the decade-long process that led to this decision, treating in particular the changing relationships among the school district, the city, and…

Designed to be used by parents, school principals, program directors, superintendents, or others interested in child care programs, this action manual provides ideas, models and guidelines for the design, development, implementation, and operation of a program for the school-age child. Part 1 offers profiles of existing models of child care…

This manual is presented to assist local districts in complying with the requirements of the Massachusetts Policy on Basic Skills Improvement, whose principal goal is to help students master basic skills prior to high school graduation. The policy requires schools to evaluate student achievement in the basic skills at least once during the early…

The introduction of telecommunications hardware and systems for educational purposes in Alaska has been rapid and dramatic, but has not adequately addressed the needs of rural Alaskans. The policy-making process for the delivery of educational systems has emphasized technical questions, the breadth of dissemination of programs, costs and benefits,…

Without advancing a specific plan for reforming American schooling, this document identifies a number of conditions that must be met for education to be considered adequate. The paper defines an adequate education as one that achieves the social and individual purposes to which it has been addressed. The effects of politics and decentralization on…

The millions of disadvantaged youth, especially minority group youths, face a bewildering mix of job training and employment programs. Because of bureaucratic regulations and funding complications, most of these programs are not effective for the majority of youths who need them. To be effective, youth employment and training programs should…

This occasional paper consists of three essays devoted to evaluation, inquiry, and local planning in federal vocational legislation. In their paper entitled "Evaluation and Accountability in Federal Vocational Legislation," Jerome Moss, Jr. and George H. Copa propose a rationale and a set of recommendations for federal legislation dealing with…

Eight New Jersey State colleges which shared essentially the same goals and offered similar financial aid packages were studied in order to determine the relationship between persistence rates of disadvantaged students in opportunity programs and the role of faculty in such programs. Student data were provided by New Jersey's Equal Opportunity…

Approximately one-fourth of those involved in adult learning live in rural areas. A survey of programs serving rural adult learners reveals that no one educational provider or program seems best suited to provide services to rural communities. What successful providers have in common are programs which: (1) respond to a specific societal need, (2)…

Educational policy makers and administrators must choose from a bewildering variety of discipline models and techniques. Legal intervention and contradictory research findings further complicate the matter. There is, therefore, no cut-and-dried solution to student behavior problems. Rather, discipline policies must be based on community values,…

Employment rights of part-time faculty and legal and collective bargaining issues are discussed, with attention to tenure rights and job security, due process, and equal treatment. The part-time faculty contract may provide some employment continuity by incorporating seniority provisions, access to fractional tenure, and other protective clauses.…

This Delphi analysis of the "Instructionally Effective School" (IES) was designed to measure the current state of the art and science of school-based teaching and learning for poor children, and to describe the policy implications of the developmental level for school people, districts, states, and the federal government. Teams of…