This report examines the development and implementation of performance indicators in higher education, focusing on the factors driving increased demand for accountability in higher education and the use of performance indicators in the United States and other countries. It discusses the public and political concern for increased productivity,…

This guide was developed as a tool for group leaders to help people in their organizations participate in local discussions about literacy quality and evaluation in Ontario, Canada, as part of the Literacy Quality Standards and Evaluation Project. The guide is organized in seven sections that cover the following topics: definition of literacy;…

As a result of increasing pressure from external constituencies, community colleges have been called upon to demonstrate accountability through assessment activities and research on institutional effectiveness based on student outcomes. Since community colleges include transient student populations, students with a wide range of ability and…

This book is the result of a research project on the most important principles, structural features, and functionalities of higher education policies in 11 developed nations around the world. Reports on each nation, are based in large part on analysis of responses to a common questionnaire by national experts in each nation. An opening chapter,…

Institutions of higher education are responding to increasing demands for accountability at all levels of government. The demands are also coming from regional accrediting associations in the form of a call for institutions to document their efforts in the areas of effectiveness and outcome assessment. This paper describes briefly this…

In this speech, President Clinton asserts that educational enterprise is now more important than ever and that a candid assessment of it is needed. The American educational system faces unique challenges--a more diverse student population in terms of income, race, ethnicity, and background; fractured authority and financing; schools burdened by…

The institutional effectiveness movement has emerged on the higher education agenda because of increased global competition, decreased funding levels, and a loss of public confidence in higher education. While the movement's emphasis on outcomes-based accountability has been integrated into state mandates, accreditation processes, and educational…

In the mid-1980's, the paradigm used by business and elected leaders for viewing higher education shifted toward an emphasis on accountability and institutional effectiveness. In general, community colleges have been more responsive than senior colleges to accountability mandates, in part because community colleges have measured their progress in…

Is the criticism of today's public schools and its employees unwarranted? This document highlights some data that cast the performance of American public schools in a more favorable light. Contrary to popular belief, today's students compare favorably with those in the past and with students in other countries. A higher percentage of American…

The Wyoming Community College Commission was established in 1951 as a result of a legislative act to extend the offering of higher education beyond the secondary level in qualified school districts. Seven community colleges were created by the Commission, resulting in a system that presently continues to serve thousands of citizens and their…

The assessment movement within higher education will not meet its broadest objectives unless it pays more attention to educational processes through process management. Process management holds that quality suffers when those who produce the goods or services are not directly accountable to the stakeholders in the production enterprise. Within…

Commissioned by the governor of Minnesota, a study was done of the state's current resources, and future needs with a view to planning an integrated, efficient and effective system of post-secondary education. Through a series of eight meetings and visits to over 70 campuses where commissioners talked to students, educators, policy makers and…

In 1989, the Texas State Board of Education undertook the responsibility for developing a 4-year plan and for establishing a vision for education that extends into the next century. This document contains the goals for education established by the 71st Texas legislature. The mission of public education in Texas is for it to be characterized by…

A glossary providing a common set of definitions for thinking and talking about assessment policy in undergraduate education is presented. Terms with more general meaning are defined only in this specific context. This glossary was developed as part of a series of Education Commission of the States case studies of state-based approaches to…

In 1973 Florida embarked on an ambitious adventure to improve the quality of public education by decentralizing many aspects of educational decision-making to the school site. The strategy incorporated a comprehensive reform of the state's school finance system, the development of a management information and accounting system, requirements for…