A principal typically controls less than 3 percent of the actual dollars spent to operate his school. The most significant of the principal's resources is the master schedule. The schedule, not money, is the coin of the school realm and is the primary indicator of the distribution of inschool resources. (Author/IRT)

Kalamazoo's administrators undergo a multi-component evaluation based essentially on performance objectives. The results are directly reflected in each administrator's pay raise or lack of one. (Author/WM)

Suggests that school boards consider voluntarily adopting a formal evaluation system and identifies what such a program can accomplish. (WD)

Compares views of teachers in Virginia and Vermont toward their state's education accountability system. Finds more differences than similarities. For example, teachers in Vermont believed the state test was just a slice of a larger accountability plan, but to Virginia teachers, it was the majority of the accountability pie. (PKP)

Describes the use of total quality management to improve the academic achievement of students in Norfolk (Virginia) Public Schools. (PKP)

Provides a systematic model for evaluating school boards that should be adaptable to many school systems. (WD)

Argues that standards, not testing, is the most important component of state educational accountability systems. Recommends that teachers and administrators engage in standards analysis and curriculum alignment. (PKP)

School board members familiar with basic facts concerning the curriculum process are likely to make productive, consistent decisions and to recognize what decisions to delegate. The board's role as adviser takes three forms: counselor, questioner, and community advocate. A sidebar shows how to answer parents' curriculum questions. (MLH)

Five experts discuss accountability, including the role of the goals-measurement-evaluation-improvement cycle. (IRT)

Discuss issues related to corporate foundation support of urban public-school reform efforts. (PKP)

Explains the attitude of the Kalamazoo Board towards staff accountability and presents a copy of the contract with its current superintendent. (WM)

The minutes of a school board meeting can enhance board credibility and can provide important documentation in the case of litigation. The features of accurate board minutes are described and ways to achieve them are suggested. (Author/MLF)

Describes scope and policy implications of new education requirements for states and school districts in the 2002 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) called the No Child Left Behind Act. Includes critical and supportive comments by educational leaders. (PKP)

Roughly 15% of U.S. elementary school principals are working under incentive or performance-pay contracts. Douglas County, Colorado's program, including teachers and administrators, has four components: outstanding performance, skills blocks, group incentive, and district responsibility pay. Bonuses can be major motivators. A sidebar details…

A father and music teacher describes his frustrations when trying to get Prentice Hall Publishers to correct over 2000 factual errors in his daughter's seventh-grade science textbook. Textbooks featuring pictures of African-American women working in science labs may incorrectly portray scientific experiments. (MLH)