Describes efforts to implement standards-based reform in the Houston School District using both a top-down and a bottom-up approach, where local schools were allowed considerable autonomy in achieving reform, but given direction, training, and resources by the district. (PKP)

This report contains a synopsis of all public education waivers to improve student achievement granted to Texas school districts during the period from September 1, 1991 through August 31, 1992. The purpose of the waivers is to set aside a requirement or prohibition imposed by state law that inhibits student achievement. The state's educational…

This paper reviews the definition and historical development of the Carnegie classification for Comprehensive Universities and Colleges I and II by referring to specific examples in each category. It then identifies several significant characteristics of these institutions, noting their historic underpinnings as teachers colleges. The paper next…

Developments in several states suggest that a state-imposed accountability system is gradually taking shape. State authorities have established both incentive systems to reward high-performing school districts and systems of sanctions to be applied to districts with a record of repeated low performance. To accomplish this, a majority of states are…

This article summarizes findings and implications of recent reports on education. The following three guidelines should influence future educational planning: (1) well-educated teachers and effective instruction are basic to good school systems; (2) administrators play a crucial role; and (3) actors in the educational establishment must recognize…

The National Postsecondary Education Cooperative (NPEC), with the support of the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, was formed to develop ways to improve the utility of information for policy making at all levels and in all sectors of the postsecondary education enterprise. This report provides a model for…

Considers five major interests at stake in higher education: social justice, competence, academic freedom, autonomy/accountability, and decentralization/centralization. Suggests that the implementation of conflicting interests is less a matter of the relation between the state and higher education than of relations between the academic profession…

Describes vulnerability of student affairs and other academic support areas during economically difficult times. Explores four components of unified systems approach to student affairs financial management that can maintain efficiency and effectiveness: (1) long-range planning; (2) accountability; (3) evaluation; and (4) applied model of systems…

The "Education for the Future Initiative" is a national, privately-funded program initially sponsored by the Telesis Foundation and recently joined by Arthur Andersen & Co. to help schools undertake continuous improvement. The Initiative has pioneered a framework for school improvement in the form of a school portfolio. This document offers a…

This report addresses the main issues of reform for intercollegiate athletics and suggests solutions. The first chapter introduces the core of the report's interest: the place of athletics on the nation's campuses and the imperative to place the well-being of the student-athlete at the forefront of the concerns. The second chapter presents…

According to data obtained for the year 1978 from the Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) and from state governments under contract to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, teenaged drivers (especially males) have much higher rates of fatal crash involvement than older drivers. In addition, teenaged drivers are more likely than…

After surveying the nationwide trend toward reduction and re-evaluation of counselors, this report traces the development of a guidance program accountability evaluation process. The history, a basic definition and rationale of the program, and its goals are described. Various assessment tools, data evaluation and the resulting suggestions and…

Pressures facing higher education institutions regarding accountability and the implications of their responses for accreditation agencies and state governments are discussed. Much of the response of institutions to current or anticipated declines in enrollments or financial resources is defensive and/or negative. Some institutions plan against…

This paper contains executive summaries of the productivity-quality efforts of nine independent Illinois colleges and universities. The summaries typically include descriptions of the type of student population served, the type of campus, the institution's mission statement, and major areas in which degrees are offered. Specific initiatives to…

This paper, from the Proprietary Schools Advisory Committee, is an executive summary of reports on the productivity-quality efforts of nine Illinois proprietary institutions. For each school, productivity summaries are presented for instructional, public service, and research units as well as academic and administrative functions. Examples of…