This testimony discusses the findings from our recent work on fragmentation, overlap, and potential duplication in federally funded programs that support teacher quality. We recently issued a report addressing fragmentation, overlap, and potential duplication in federal programs that outlined opportunities to reduce potential duplication across a…

The primary assumption behind the development of this guide is that program managers, faced with the responsibility of designing and planning an educational program, or modifying an existing resource system, might profit from a better understanding of the nature of needs assessment. The first section of this guide presents an overview of needs…

A research allocation formula employed in London, Ontario elementary schools, as well as supporting data on the method, are provided in this report. Attempts to improve on the traditional methods of resource allocation in London's schools were based on two principles: (1) that need for a particular service could and should be determined…

Cooperative doctor of philosophy degree programs in educational administration and supervision have been developed between the College of Education at Georgia State University and three of the System's 14 senior colleges. Cooperating senior colleges are located in three different geographical sections of the state: Valdosta State College; Columbus…

Needs assessment almost always focuses on the assessment of change, change from the real to the ideal, present to future, actual to expected, and so on. As a result, most definitions of need can be represented by a mathematical-style change formula. However, most presentations of the concept of change do not completely represent the complexity of…

Needs assessment is a fundamental part of evaluation, and yet it has not developed as rapidly in sophistication as other evaluation methodologies. This is largely due to the difficulty in measuring real needs, as opposed to wants, interests, etc. This paper discusses some of the critical issues in needs assessment, and outlines some of the…

The educational administrator must often straddle the gap between empirically sound and politically expedient decisions, employing policy assessment as a hedge against adopting ill-conceived policies. The resource allocation model (RAM) attempts to remedy this dilemma by tying program evaluation and policy analysis into a single conceptual yet…

The status of school finance research and priority tasks to be undertaken in the next round of research are outlined. Both substantive and methodological issues are addressed. Finance-reform relations, methods addressing equity in funding distribution, and neglected areas of study are covered. (TJH)

Reviews the factors that tend to limit youth services budgets in public libraries, and discusses the need to collect relevant data on the use of libraries by children and adolescents to justify financial support of youth services. Strategies for collecting such data are outlined and appropriate resource allocation is discussed. (CLB)

This paper presents the procedures used for carrying out a needs assessment concerning drug and alcohol abuse prevention and intervention efforts across nine western states and the Pacific territories prior to and subsequent to the receipt of United States Department of Education funds to implement training and technical services in the region.…

A needs assessment survey of science teachers in 5th through 12th grades was conducted to answer the following research questions: (1) What factors influence science teachers positively or negatively toward using instructional television (ITV)? and (2) What are the significant needs felt by science teachers in the actual classroom regarding ITV…

Time management principles can help teachers become more aware of ways in which time can be used to the greatest advantage. An exploration of personal time perspectives is a step toward establishing effective patterns of behavior. Productivity may be high in the morning and low in the late afternoon, for example, and organizing some activities to…

Reactions to zero-based budgeting in the State of Georgia as it pertains to institutions of higher education are discussed. Major advantages and disadvantages of zero-based budgeting as reported by budget analysts and selected department heads in state agencies were examined by George Minmier and Roger Hermanson (1976). Zero-based budgeting was…

Information gathered from the Bureau of the Census and a review of the literature available indicate that few school districts make use of the comprehensive data collected by the decennial federal census or the data collected and updated annually by the individual state departments of education. Educational planners should have a complete…

A 2-year, and still ongoing, initiative was implemented at a land-grant research university to analyze academic and administrative space. Administrative attitudes were compared with faculty attitudes related to space priorities as part of the university's 10-year comprehensive plan. The Office of Institutional Research (OIR) served as the central…