This bulletin has three purposes: (1) to discuss the variety of factors which should be considered in the development of a local testing program, providing a basic understanding of what is necessary to implement and maintain a testing program; (2) to suggest several of the significant elements related to the development and maintenance of a…

In response to state legislation authorizing procedures for changes in academic calendars and measurement of student workload in California community colleges, this manual from the Chancellor's Office provides guidelines for student attendance accounting. Chapter 1 explains general items such as the academic calendar, admissions policies, student…

A colloquium on educational reform held in New York brought together leading educators, union representatives, business leaders, and public officials to discuss one of the greatest challenges to the state and the nation: improving America's public schools. As a follow-up to the discussion, this report documents the most pressing reform issues. The…

Although Wisconsin citizens support public education, they have significant doubts about the quality of education in the state and would support a number of reforms aimed at changing its structure, character, and accountability. Three telephone surveys were conducted with three representative samples of 1,000 citizens between January 1988 and…

This document examines one important means of achieving accountability in a state's education system: the introduction of statewide education indicator systems, monitoring such aspects as the performance of students and the various factors affecting that performance. This report is divided into three sections. The first section describes the…

In 1988, California voters passed a constitutional ballot initiative, Proposition 98, that required local districts to publish School Accountability Report Cards containing information on specific school characteristics. This study documents some key events leading to the passage of Proposition 98 and the subsequent implementation of the report…

In an effort to foster professionalism and staff development within the Technical and Further Education college staff, a voluntary appraisal program, Facilitated Appraisal for College Executives (FACE), was developed. A handbook is presented which gives background information and some suggestions users may find helpful in implementing the (FACE)…

This resource guide is designed for high school personnel to use when implementing Oregon standards for guidance and counseling programs, career education programs, and instruction in career development. It lists objectives, activities, resources, and places to visit under seven program goals as follows: (1) the student will realize that there are…

This document is a transcript of a panel discussion on the development and early stages of implementation of an accountability system for vocational education professional personnel development in Pennsylvania. Representatives of the Bureau of Vocational and Adult Education, Pennsylvania Department of Education, and three of the four participating…

Issues of accountability in enterprises that provide educational services at the individual and institutional levels are explored in this paper. Two conceptions of accountability are addressed: accountability as measurement and as ethics. A major source of confusion is the disagreement between the two ways of thinking about the meaning and…

College outcomes evaluation is discussed in two papers. In "The Political Economy of Assessment," Joseph P. O'Neill considers standards of accountability, American reliance on faculty to assess, and the danger of validating quality by external examination. By using the credit-hour system, a quantity indicator (time), is used as a…

Substantial emphasis has been placed on Florida Extension faculty evaluating their educational programs for impact and the utilization of these data for program accountability, yet little is known of the extent to which the faculty have accepted this responsibility. In order to assess the stage of adoption of impact evaluation as a practice, and…

Views of academic deans at 15 private Minnesota colleges concerning assessment were surveyed. About half of the colleges experienced some but not great pressure for assessment from their external environment while the remaining had felt essentially no pressure. The deans identified obstacles to assessment, including fears about possible intrusion…

The State of Arkansas, through legislation, has set new standards for schools of education. The new standards mandate changes affecting the following: (1) National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) approval for all teacher education programs in the state; (2) general education requirements for education students that are the…

The policy papers included in this package address various facets of the topic of data-based accountability for education in California. Guy Benveniste of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Education explores the underlying issue of accountability and describes the implications of different types of accountability measures. In…