The Teachers Insurance and Annuities Association's (TIAA) College Retirement and Equity Fund is criticized for its low returns and its chief executive officer's recent salary raise. It is said to be in need of additional regulation and policyholder involvement. A TIAA vice president responds that the analysis given is inaccurate and misleading.…

William A. Brock, a member of President Bush's Advisory Committee on Education and chairman of the Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCAN), criticizes American society's lack of attention and support for public education. Principals must examine and evaluate the enterprise system, talk to its participants, and learn about helpful new…

This article describes the Departmental Computing Coordinators program implemented at Loyola University (Chicago) to manage and support computing activities at the departmental level. The basis of the program is a standard position accountability included in job descriptions of departmental employees who hold computing responsibilities. (Author)

Superintendents, a principal, a teacher, and representatives of the National Education Association describe how they are attempting to resolve the question of establishing parameters in shared decision-making programs. Also lists 12 principles necessary for effective decision making to commence and 12 effective practices in shared decision making.…

Recent state and national developments regarding assessment of higher education suggest that a decisive point for assessment policy is approaching. Too many higher education leaders remain uninvolved, and public patience is wearing thin. Increasing frustration with higher education may lead public policymakers toward greater prescription and…

Reports results of a study that examines (1) the extent to which colleges have institutional policies requiring collection of outcome assessment data; (2) which outcomes measures are being collected; (3) which measures are considered most useful in political science departments; and (4) future institutional plans. Concludes that all measures are…

Experiential approaches to education are compatible with mainstream school reforms designed to unify a highly fragmented curriculum, engage students as active participants in learning, and better serve at-risk populations. However, public school acceptance of experiential strategies is hampered by recent enthusiasm for standardized nationwide…

Although school boards are venerable U.S. institutions symbolizing local control and grass-roots determination, they do not work well and never have, despite establishment of superintendencies and privatization efforts. Needed reforms include establishing training and background requirements, banning educational conflicts of interest, strictly…

Reviews selected literature on administrative evaluation and focuses on four topics: (1) linking principals to school effectiveness as an outcome; (2) increasing awareness of school contextual indicators affecting leadership and effectiveness; (3) the effects of structural reform on the principal's role; and (4) assessing principal's performance…

Describes a model that ties school principal evaluation to accountability for outcomes and is based on the interaction of principals with the social system of schools. Also discusses the leader/school interaction as an evaluation framework and the importance of effective work relationships. (GLR)

The efforts of a committee to involve stakeholders, faculty in a department of nursing, in a program evaluation for accreditation, are described. Experiences over a five-year period are described, with an emphasis on strategies that fostered success. Implications for other educational evaluations are reviewed. (SLD)

Examined the impact of contextual factors on adults' and children's tendencies to hold individuals accountable for moral and legal transgressions. Subjects were 180 adults and children in the United States and Mysore, India. Indians more frequently absolved individuals of moral accountability for breaches performed under emotional duress or by…

Although Superintendent Frank Petruzielo arrived with briefcase full of plans to change Houston (Texas) school district, he spent his first year reworking his ideas in consultation with district teachers and administrators. He ignored school budget brokering that had occurred between previous school boards and business establishment, won 32%…

Reviews legal arguments used to challenge traditional testing programs in prior litigation and indicates how these arguments might be applied in a performance-assessment application. Examines discrimination challenges to performance assessments in employment contexts. Suggests ways to deal with the psychometric issues most likely to be encountered…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) was originally used to report academic improvement or decline in the performance of 9-, 13-, and 17-year olds across major geographic regions. State-by-state comparison was carefully avoided. In 1988, however, Congress authorized the NAEP to conduct voluntary Trial State Assessments. (CJS)