The purposes of educational paperwork, the reasons it may be excessive, and suggestions for mitigating excessive paperwork are presented in this document. According to the author, educational paperwork has four purposes: as a substitute for onsite inspection, as a "pseudo-contract" to encourage compliance, as a due process and participation mechanism, and as a consciousness-raising device. Educational paperwork may be burdensome or excessive, he says, when, like much regulatory paperwork, it imposes standardization on highly varied problems, when demands for accountability are extended to inappropriate situations, or when documentation is used to attempt to forestall deception. Six paperwork mitigation procedures are suggested, including (1) central oversight and clearance of data collection, within the agency seeking data; (2) redistribution of paperwork to specialized personnel; (3) reduction of excessive standards of accuracy or comprehensiveness; (4) filtering of "junk" memos, notices, and other paperwork; (5) better conceptualization of the usefulness of the data; and (6) substitution of more efficient means of carrying out paperwork's "ritual" functions (such as the wielding of power). (Author/RW)