The purpose of this three-part report is to identify the competencies of high-performing principals, based on a study conducted by the Florida Council on Educational Management (FCEM). Part I reviews the background that led to the study of the principalship. It describes the factors leading to the creation of legislation that focused on the role…

Materials collected in this book and in Volume I (SP 003 238) are related to the Multi-State Teacher Education Project (M-STEP). They deal with program experiments and resulting directions, including guide-line type materials resulting from the project effort and items prepared by other sources as project-centered aids. Part I, "A Forward…

Online learning holds promise for providing new educational opportunities to a wide range of students across the country. The rapid expansion of K-12 online learning, however, threatens to outpace the development of appropriate state-level policies that serve to fulfill the promise. As the National Association of State Boards of Education warned…

Rasch measurement can provide a much needed solution to scaling teacher ability. Typically, decisions about teacher ability are based on dichotomously scored certification tests focused on knowledge of content or pedagogy. This paper presents early developmental work of a partial credit teacher ability scale of 42 tasks (performances and…

This report outlines success factors and challenges identified in a study of the educational electronic communications networks in three selected Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) member states (i.e., Florida, Georgia, and Oklahoma) and through discussions of the SREB's Educational Technology Cooperative. The report is organized in sections…

This report addresses three uses for computers in instruction: (1) as tutor; (2) as learning tool; and (3) as educational management tool. Policies, standards, and guidelines which are fundamental to an environment where computers support instruction are presented. A "people" network is proposed to provide an infrastructure for…

This paper describes the strategy developed by the Florida Department of Education to identify, develop, and support new educational procedures and practices in Florida's public schools. This educational renewal strategy incorporates three basic elements: establishing clear goals and objectives, assessing and analyzing how well educational goals…

Uniform procedures, terminology, definitions, forms, and instructions for the completion of state reporting requirements are presented as a management aid for the individual Florida community colleges. A calendar of required reports is presented first, along with an explanation of the Community College Information Classification Structure (CCICS)…

A study sought to determine the extent to which local accountability systems exist in vocational education and to describe the nature of the underlying relationships between such programs and their constituents. Data were collected through interviews from two local vocational education programs in each of five states (California, Florida,…

This document provides answers to frequently asked questions about special education services provided in Florida's public schools for children and adults with disabilities, and is based on a 1999 conference held by the Florida Department of Education and other agencies for families and individuals with disabilities. The 30 questions and answers…

A MAILED QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY WAS SENT TO THE DIRECTOR OF TEACHER EDUCATION AND/OR CERTIFICATION IN EACH STATE TO DETERMINE THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH STATEWIDE PROGRAMS FOR EVALUATING TEACHING CAN YIELD THE MOST USEFUL INFORMATION FOR IMPLEMENTING STATE EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN THE EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATION OF TEACHERS AND IN THE ACCREDITATION…

This monograph was written to provide community college trustees in Florida with a broad perspective on personnel issues by addressing national and state personnel issues that trustees encounter in higher education. Following a historical overview of governance in higher education, the monograph identifies and addresses eight issues separately:…

Uniform procedures, terminology, definitions, forms, and instructions are presented to aid individual Florida community colleges in completing state reporting requirements. Following introductory information concerning the Community College Management Information System (CCMIS) the manual explains the purpose and characteristics of the Community…

The major distinctions between evaluation and research are examined, the chief differences being the intent and type of criteria against which judgments are made. Conceptualization of the evaluation process in higher education is discussed on two levels. A collection of nine similes for understanding evaluation is examined in terms of major…

This case study describes and interprets the process through which State-level policy decisions are made for the public schools of Florida, and focuses on the people, agencies, and processes involved in the policymaking. After brief treatments of the socioeconomic environment and the political culture within which education takes place, the…