The liberal consensus that has shaped national education policy is seen as succumbing to dubious ideas and undesirable practices. Issues discussed include: educational equity, equality and quality; measures of educational achievement; accountability; "need" and ability; statism and monoply, pluralism and diversity; federal role; and…

These six chapters examine Thailand's efforts in the 1980s to improve the quality of primary (elementary) education. Thailand's experience in implementing improvement strategies within cost constraints may offer insights to other developing nations. Sample surveys, cost analyses, and case studies are the basis of research reported. (SLD)

Discussion of quality assurance in colleges and universities looks at theories and definitions of quality; four approaches to quality (traditional peer review, the assessment-and-outcomes movement, the Total Quality Management movement, and accountability and performance indicator reporting); the moral and ethical dimensions of quality; and ideals…

Those anonymous individuals who develop high-stakes tests by which educational quality is measured exercise great influence in defining educational quality. In this article, the author examines the impact of high-stakes testing on the welfare of the children and the quality of social studies instruction. He presents the benefits and drawbacks of…

This research brief presents an overview of a 2004 study by G.S. Shannon and P. Bylsma entitled "Characteristics of Improved School Districts: Themes from Research" (Olympia, WA: Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction). The authors reviewed more than 80 research articles that investigated the attributes of schools and districts …

The mission of the Education Law Center (ELC) is to ensure public school children access to an equal and high quality education. Over the past year, they expanded their efforts to achieve that goal using the innovative advocacy strategies presented in this report. Highlights include: (1) Providing legal services to 479 low income and disadvantaged…

This statistically representative survey of 1,203 likely Virginia voters illustrates public opinion on a wide range of K-12 education issues. The underlying purpose of the Friedman Foundation's state surveys is to measure voter knowledge and attitudes toward public institutions and policies, innovative ideas, and the state's K-12 education system.…

This study explored quality assessment and accountability in Dutch university education using a case study approach. The Dutch national system of quality assurance is described, and developments since the mid-1980s are traced. The university case studies illustrate models which are being employed to implement the quality assurance system including…

As part of a Kentucky effort to improve public education and to increase taxpayer confidence in expanded educational funding, a citizen committee examined and made recommendations on approaches to school accountability and assessment, particularly student testing in the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS). The recommendations…

Higher education structures need to be redesigned to make them more responsive to the public's demand for more attention to teaching and learning and the reality of limited financial resources. The enterprise model can serve as a 21st century paradigm, with three new "tools": (1) customer influence on delivery of services; (2) accountability…

The Center for Educational Research and Evaluation of the University of North Carolina (Greensboro) has been contracted to propose standards, indicators of quality, data collection procedures, and instruments for the evaluation of Georgia public schools mandated by the state legislature. The development of these standards and indicators is…

In the United States and in most of the world, a recent trend in education has been movement away from single-sex secondary schooling and toward coeducation. Single-sex schools are closing or merging for reasons that often have very little to do with the academic merits of coeducation or single-sex education at the secondary level. This study…

The importance of legislative initiatives to improve postsecondary education is discussed, along with mechanisms that legislatures have used to induce change in higher education, and guidelines for action. Structural obstacles to improvements that have confronted most public colleges include lack of clear priorities, fragmented responsibilities,…

State plans for higher education since 1960 are considered, with attention to factors highlighted for attention in planning documents, goals established for the higher education planning process, and recommendations advanced to achieve those goals. A total of 63 comprehensive state plans for higher education were included: 7 state plans were…

A general discussion of the quality of teacher education program evaluation is presented. Program evaluations typically go beyond assessment of minimum standards to more comprehensive reviews of: (1) the strengths and weaknesses of programs; (2) the effectiveness of the "products" of the educational activity; (3) the relationship of the…