The education landscape is rapidly evolving as state policymakers enact and significantly expand private education choice initiatives. These initiatives, currently operating in 29 states and counting, provide public dollars directly to families to support approved educational purchases, including, but not always limited to, private school tuition.…

This paper examines the extent to which legitimacy affects program continuation, and focuses on the process by which programs attempt to maintain legitimate status through conformity with the larger environment. Legitimacy is defined as cultural support from a program's larger environment, such as the school district or community. An innovative…

This report describes a process to determine the degree to which labor market information guided the program decisions of local planning and advisory groups in Illinois' Education for Employment system. The first part focuses on the program approval application and local validation process. It offers recommendations for the sequential contents of…

Contributing to the debate on the nature of the reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act, this report discusses three proposals that would establish standards of performance for vocational education and analyzes experiences from performance standards implemented as part of other social and educational programs, such as the…

This paper, presented by the Council of Ontario Universities (COU), addresses questions related to development of the Quality Assessment Board, the applied degree pilot project, new Ontario-based private institutions, and new taxpayer and student protection measures. The COU highlights four major points in their response to the paper,…

This paper presents some ideas to preschool educators and policy makers about how to make validated educational models central in standards for preschool education and care programs that are available to all 3- and 4-year-olds. Defining an educational model as a coherent body of program practices, curriculum content, program and child, and teacher…

Utilizing the regression-discontinuity research design, this article explores the effectiveness of a developmental English program in a large, multicampus community college. Routinely collected data were extracted from existing records of a cohort of first-time college students followed for approximately 6 years (N = 1,473). Results are consistent…

As mandated under Title 5 of the California Administrative Code, this annual report to the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges explains the current course approval process in the colleges and summarizes approval activities in the areas of credit courses and programs and non-credit courses. First, background information is…

Intended for policymakers, administrators, and others involved in determining how the efficiency and effectiveness of technical and further education (TAFE) should be measured, this monograph contains the following sections: (1) "Introduction," including a explanation of the origins of the push for performance indicators and the response…

Educational reform is becoming synonymous with accountability. However, designing an effective accountability system poses serious challenges for states as is clear from the progress and pitfalls experienced by states such as Texas, Kentucky, and California. For example, many states tend to overload their new accountability programs, resulting in…

Section 20-2-250 of Georgia's Quality Basic Education (QBE) Act, passed in March, 1985, provides for three types of innovative activities: developmental projects, training center/dissemination projects, and adoption projects. This part of the Act is administered by the Georgia Department of Education under the Innovation Program. The activities…

The criteria listed in this manual are designed to evaluate teacher education programs in Georiga colleges that voluntarily agree to meet these standards. The standards were designed so that each institution has the opportunity to reflect its philosophy in programs offered, since most of the criteria reflect broad experiences that should be…

This paper presents a brief history of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), defining it as a national effort of voluntary accreditation. Distinctions are drawn between national voluntary accreditation and regional accreditation, with these distinctions being placed in a perspective of state licensure and program…

Several validation methods for the identification and dissemination of exemplary educational programs are explored, and the rationales for methods developed by the Program Effectiveness Panel are discussed. Comparative advantages and disadvantages of four selected methods are reviewed, and recommendations are made for policymakers and…

This feasibility study was conducted to determine the appropriateness and viability of developing a video-based training program to assist music educators in mainstreaming students with disabilities into general music classes. Following an introduction, the report is organized into five chapters: (1) Mainstreaming and Music Education, which…