New Jersey has taken steps to improve vocational education programs and services in response to two state reports and the measurement and evaluation requirements of the reauthorized Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-392). Among state initiatives is the Occupational Competency Project, a study of 100…

The Kansas State Board of Education's Quality Performance Accreditation system is described. Unlike past accreditation methods, which focused on the facilities or institutional characteristics, Quality Performance Accreditation accredits schools based on student performance. Through the accreditation process, the state will establish the same high…

This monograph has been developed as part of an intensive, 3-year study of five local school districts engaged in general and special education reform. The purpose of the study was to examine how educational reforms were being defined and implemented at the local district and school levels, particularly with students with disabilities. The…

Three documents related to the passage of Public Law 102-62 are presented. The first document is the House of Representatives Report 102-104, a report of the Committee on Education and Labor regarding the establishment of a National Council on Education Standards and Testing. The Council would be established to determine whether standards for…

This paper on the feasibility of using teaching practices as indicators of student learning was developed as part of an ongoing project to develop a process for the assessment of college student learning in the context of National Education Goal 5, Objective 5, which aims to increase the proportion of college graduates with "advanced ability…

The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) is responsible for improving the form and use of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The NAGB is beginning to define achievement levels to state clearly what students should know and be able to do at key grades in school. This report creates a policy framework, definitions, and…

Ways to improve undergraduate education are suggested, based on the work of the Study Group on the Conditions of Excellence in American Higher Education. After considering shared values and long-term goals for American higher education, attention is directed to both the achievements and problems of colleges. Major themes are that student…

Based on the premise that there is substantial correlation between the goals and objectives of career education and experiential education (learning activities outside the normal classroom), four themes are developed: A typology of experiential education and community involvement practices, an overview of selected exemplary experiential education…

A performance funding policy adopted in Tennessee in 1979, which recognizes and rewards instructional performance through the state funding formula, is described. The schedule permits institutions to earn an additional 2 percent of their educational and general appropriations based on an evaluation of institutional instructional performance on…

This report provides background information on California's academic standards, resources and funding mechanisms. Its findings point to relatively low levels of school spending, a gap between academic standards and school resources, a finance system based on previous funding levels rather than actual school resources and their costs, and questions…

This report is published in accordance with Alaska Statute 14.03.120 for the school year 2003-2004. This publication reports the status of public education. It is a source of information for Alaska's educational policy makers, including legislators, the Governor, the State Board of Education & Early Development, local boards of education,…

This research brief summarizes a report by Heather Rose, Jon Sonstelie, Ray Reinhard, and Sharmaine Heng, "High Expectations, Modest Means: The Challenge Facing California's Public Schools" (2003) [ED497508]. The full report provides background information on California's academic standards, resources and funding mechanisms. Its findings…

This book attempts to serve as a compendium and a chronology of secondary education in the United States, taking a broad rather than a narrow approach and touching on a great many topics and issues. Chapters 1 and 2 present a history of secondary schools and a discussion of adolescence. Chapter 3 discusses curriculum in secondary schools,…

Executive Order 13096 gave the U.S. Department of Education the responsibility for developing a research agenda for American Indian and Alaska Native education. The Department established a working group composed of various government agencies and American Indian groups, committees, and associations, that solicited ideas and comments from Native…

The papers in this book reflect current debates on academic standards and quality assurance, and speak from the perspective of institutional leaders and national quality bodies and higher education researchers. Included are reports on the progress of several international quality initiatives and studies on the impact of external quality assurance…