Teacher-observation forms should focus on observable teacher-preparation behaviors and teaching techniques appropriate to a particular lesson. The form presented in this article includes both considerations and is most useful for middle and secondary levels. The form helps focus a preobservation conference on factors establishing pertinent teacher…

Achieving flexibility without losing student accountability is a challenge that faces every school. With a fluid block schedule, as described here, accountability is maintained without inhibiting flexibility. An additional advantage is that three levels of schedule decision making take some of the pressure off the principal. (Editor)

Education is a complex issue and no sweeping generalizations about it can be made. It follows, therefore, that there can be no simple answer to the student test score decline question. (Editor) Aspect of National Assessment (NAEP) dealt with in this document: Results (Utilization).

For a concise exposition of what management by objectives is and what it could mean for schools, with special reference to the principalship, this article is recommended reading. (Editor)

Author discusses the four components of planning: need, interest, organization, and accountability as they relate to an alternative school. (Editor)

Accountability is both highly complex and highly sensitive, say these writers, who feel that it is not yet technically feasible, other than in a piecemeal sense. A list of the stages through which a total accountability system must develop are presented here. (Editor/RK)

The principal is at the crossroads of accountability, writes this author, who feels that plans for change are best brought about (and perhaps only) through the building principal. (Editor)

A survey of 78 high school teachers indicates skills related to communicating evaluation information and assessing cognitive achievement are most desirable and useful. Skills related to the statistical analysis of evaluation information were rated least useful, indicating a need for the inservice training of teachers in measurement and evaluation.…

Principals must realize the positive effects that marketing can have on improving schools and building support for them. Market analysis forces clarification of the competing needs and interests present in the community. The four marketing phases are needs assessment, analysis, goal setting, and public relations and advertising. (MLH)

The push for national examinations is motivated by unrealistic expectations about the information they will yield. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has now been asked to monitor achievement at the state level, serve as an evaluation and accountability instrument, and be a benchmark for other tests. This article examines…

Despite recent criticisms, U.S. society is getting a good value for its education dollar. High schools are beset by college influences on the curriculum; special education requirements; overemphasis on student activities; unreasonable international comparisons; the influences of TV, teenage employment, and pathological behaviors; and the…

The Hastings Alternative School Program (HASP), designed for at-risk students, operates within Hastings-on-Hudson (New York) High School's regular program. Students are given an external structure and set of expectations enforced by an accountability system stressing communication and student responsibility. Nearly half of all HASP students go on…

If school leaders are to resolve the unique administrative problems that educational reforms, greater parental involvement, new legislation, and a continuously changing society will generate, existing professional development experiences must be improved substantially. School councils will expect administrators to assess complex situations,…

Compared to other subject areas, the arts seem more difficult to classify and evaluate. However, the arts' methods and content place them at the forefront of evaluation techniques that are beginning to permeate academic subject areas. Effective evaluation of arts programs depends not on principals' artistic expertise but on their ability to manage…

Special education enrollments, and consequently overall costs, continue to rise with no apparent relief in sight. To clarify the fiscal challenges con fronting local special education administrators today, this article provides background on how special education is funded in the United States and discusses trends in special education enrollments…