All schools need to constantly reflect on the quality of their work and the progress and achievements that they make over time. The primary goal of an accountability system is to help schools improve through critical self-reflection. It enables students, teachers, and other members of the school community to evaluate their practices, especially…

This publication is intended to help foundation program officers, educators, and organizers use the Education Organizing Indicators Framework to understand the contribution that community organizing makes to school reform. The Framework is the product of a study that examined five community groups to document how organized groups of parents and…

As schools become more culturally diverse, it is critical for principals and teachers to enact policies and procedures that ensure effective interactions among students and their teachers. This guide offers ways to ensure equitable access to quality education for all students, regardless of socioeconomic status or cultural heritage. Its intent is…

Describes planning backwards, the Coalition of Essential Schools' educational policymaking strategy for high schools. The article discusses five possible dilemmas in planning backwards: outcomes or exhibitions, local or remote authority, rigid or flexible standards, apartness or authenticity in assessment, and curriculum scaffolds built of courses…

Presents a framework for interpreting educational reforms, situating existing reform efforts in physical education within that framework. The role of professional development in these reforms and implications for physical education are discussed. The paper also reviews workplace conditions in physical education and draws conclusions for reform in…

Highlights specific questions, concerns, and challenges faced by educators, parents, and students concerning assessment, accountability, accommodations, and alternate assessment. Examples of state assessment-accommodation policies are provided and reasons for providing test accommodations, requirements of Individualized Education Programs,…

This document, which is intended for individuals responsible for planning and management at further education (FE) colleges, summarizes the factors that contributed to or obstructed implementation of strategic plans in 10 FE colleges in England and Wales in 1994-95. It presents key questions and illustrations that FE colleges can use for…

The Quality Assurance Program (QAP) workbook is intended to assist institutions of higher education conduct qualitative and quantitative evaluations of their financial aid operations in relation to requirements of Title IV of the Higher Education Act. The workbook provides a structured approach for incorporating a cyclical Title IV QA system into…

New Mexico State University-Alamogordo's (NMSU-A) Institutional Assessment and Strategic Planning (IASP) process is designed to identify what the institution is doing, what the community is doing that may affect NMSU-A, how well NMSU-A is achieving its mission and purposes, and what the college should do in the future. The IASP is an integrated…

This report summarizes the present and past status of students with disabilities in educational assessment and accountability systems, and highlights the critical emerging issues to be addressed. Issues include participation in accountability systems, graduation requirements, data management, accommodations, alternate assessments, reporting, and…

The third volume in a series of three resource guides, this volume provides an explanation of domains of anticipated assistive technology impact across functional areas of an individual's life. A matrix grid of functional categories affected by assistive technology is provided to serve as a developmental step toward the creation of guidelines for…

This book develops a framework to help policymakers and policy analysts understand and judge policy options, so they can construct alternatives to the reorganization of rural, small school districts. Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the book by stating the objectives and providing working definitions for "school district reorganization" and…

This guide is intended to assist planners of job training programs in understanding the connections between the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act and the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) and coordinating programs that receive funds under either or both of the acts. The first section presents overviews of both acts and a chart comparing…

Rural education trends in the 1980s--influenced by decreased federal, state, and local funding and demands for higher academic standards and greater accountability--will have a significant impact on staff development in small and rural schools. Along with ebbing support for compensatory education and increased focus on math and science…

General information and operational suggestions are provided for the planning and implementation of uniform and continual systems for the evaluation of community college handicapped student programs and services (HSPS). After introductory material describing requirements for quantitative and qualitative data, the handbook discusses the goals…