In the chapters presented in this volume, leading experts describe some of the assessment challenges in greater detail and provide federal recommendations on how to address them. In "College and Work Readiness as a Goal of High Schools: The Role of Standards, Assessments, and Accountability," John Tanner of the Center for Innovative Measures at…

Discusses the dilemma faced by constitutionalism today: limited, constitutional government requires that people and society be independent and distrustful of the state, but if the people are too independent and capable of ruling, they may wish to extend their powers and attempt to rule over others. (PS)

A preliminary overview of the constitutional issues in the relationship between higher education and federal regulation or control is offered. Reference is made to the Dartmouth College case and the views of Yale President Kingman Brewster, and to implications of Title IX regulations. (LBH)

Congress should formulate U.S. testing policy to ensure that reliable and accurate data are available to policymakers, educators, and the public and that tests are used fairly without infringing on individual rights or imposing unacceptable social costs. Appropriate test use and continued research funding must be a high priority for agencies…

Describes goals, advantages, standards, and missing components of state accountability systems. (25 references) (PKP)

The reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a school-reform law closely aligned with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB); a civil rights law; and a "cousin" of the 1996 welfare reform law. By imposing new or strengthened accountability expectations on students with disabilities and their parents, the…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) "In Need of Improvement:" New Alliance Brief Finds Flaws in NCLB's Design and Implementation for the…

This report provides comments from the General Accounting Office (GAO) on recommendations contained in the National Performance Review's (NPR) September 7, 1993, report which addressed ways to make the government work better and cost less. Generally, the GAO agrees with most of the NPR's recommendations and believes that successful implementation…

The American Indian Policy Review Commission's Health Task Force identified the following deficiencies in Indian health care: inadequate policy; inadequate appropriations; inadequate delivery systems; lack of responsiveness on the part of state and local agencies toward Indians; lack of oversight and accountability at all levels of Indian Health…

Bills passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate in spring 2001 to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reinforce and strengthen the education accountability provisions contained in the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) of 1994. This paper evaluates the accountability provisions in this…

The number of children in foster care has nearly doubled in recent years. Despite reform efforts, the U.S. child welfare system is not increasing the number of children who get adopted. The federal government spends over $12 billion annually on child welfare programs, but the growing government bureaucracy has allowed the problems to worsen. The…

In 2003, the Department of Education's Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) managed about $60 billion in new financial aid. In 1998, the Congress designated FSA as a performance-based organization. In so doing, it specified purposes for the agency, such as to reduce program costs and increase accountability of its officials, and provided…

Examines how the federal accountability mandates affect the design and implementation of Title I schoolwide programs in three urban school districts: Chicago, Cleveland, and Detroit. Using case studies developed in each district, examines Title I schoolwide programs within the context of state and district policies adopted to meet the federal…

Examines the extent to which the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) enables access to information about federally funded university research. Concludes that information on government research grants is covered by the FOIA only if a government agency has possession. (RS)

Nearly every state shortchanges poor and geographically isolated children. It is unpopular to spend on the neediest. Instead of fully funding Title 1 and The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Congress and President Clinton construct new competitive, general grant programs available to middle-class communities. (MLH)