Recent decades have witnessed the rise in popularity of a handful of related yet distinct approaches to governance and decision-making in many different contexts that either relocate the level and location at which decisions are made or how they are made, or both. True for developing as well as developed countries, and for both the public and…

Most high school reform efforts understandably focus on boosting the success of low-income students who are underachieving academically, but in every school district where students struggle, there are academically capable low-income and minority students who do graduate prepared for college. Yet each year, many of these students choose to attend…

The study reviewed application of the Myklebust Learning Quotient Method of identifying learning disabilities (LD) in the Macomb (Illinois) community school district from 1980 to 1987. The learning quotient (LQ) is a ratio of actual achievement to expected achievement. The Macomb program established ability estimates by use of the Wechsler…

Individual members of state legislatures wield the greatest influence in state level policy formation. This was one of the findings of a study that identified the power and influence context of state-level policymaking. Data were gathered from six states (Arizona, California, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Illinois) using an instrument…

An examination of collective gaining (interaction between people in a collective and collaborative transaction in which everyone gains) in educational institutions involves comparisons with collective bargaining, two case studies, a discussion of theoretical bases, and a consideration of do's and don'ts. Collective bargaining is anti-intellectual,…

Before there can be an understanding of politics, policy, and action in education, there must be an understanding of the value systems of policymakers. Policymakers, in their talk, in their choices of symbols and metaphors, in their choices of strategies for dealing with conflict, reveal their own needs, their role orientations, their group…

Experiences in systems-development for state information systems are summarized for eight pilot-test state agencies, as part of the State Level Information Base project. Attention is directed to the evaluation of information needs; hardware and software choices; survey administration; data organization, storage, and linkages; and staffing…

Justification for school district consolidation is made on the basis of either reducing cost or increasing educational quality. Some cost reduction may be realized through certain economies of scale in some consolidations but it is by no means automatic. The Illinois State Board of Education emphasizes the relationship between high school size and…

The story of the process that Mundelein High School (located in a northwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois) as it moved from a traditional schedule to a block schedule is described throughout this book as a way to blend theory with practice. The book addresses types of block schedules; key issues for effective preparation; professional development…

Experiences of pilot-test state agencies in developing an information system are summarized, as part of the State Level Information Base project. The background and functions of each of the eight pilot-test state agencies are described, along with the information systems approach, and planning responsibilities (comprehensive planning, budgeting,…

This Illinois state memorandum to school district superintendents provides clarification of policies regarding discipline of students with disabilities, specifically the issue of multiple suspensions, which may in the aggregate total more than 10 school days per school year, and the amount of services required during disciplinary exclusions. The…

This annual report on college affordability provides information pertinent to tuition and fee decision making designed to assist Illinois college and university governing boards in finding a balance between keeping college affordable for students and generating sufficient revenue to defray a portion of the cost of providing quality instruction.…

This handbook provides information, strategies, and techniques for developing and implementing successful work-based learning experiences. It is divided into five sections, each with 1-5 chapters that cover specific topics in detail. Section I, "What is Work-Based Learning?," considers what work-based learning is; presents a work-based…