Baseline data were obtained pertaining to needs assessment criteria and standards of performance as perceived by local secondary vocational administrators in Tennessee. All local secondary vocational administrators listed in the 1990-91 state directory were the eligible population. The survey consisted of 32 items with a Likert response scale.…

This study used state plans from 50 states to collect and analyze descriptive information on child count verification procedures used in implementing Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Content analysis suggests that verification procedures can be organized under five broad categories: on-site monitoring (used by 41 states),…

Assembly Bill (AB) 1725 mandates that the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges (CCC) shall develop and implement a comprehensive Community College educational and fiscal accountability system in order to improve student and institutional performance. The system is to be implemented over a 3-year period beginning not later than…

This report on a preventive law institute held in Texas in 1981 includes an introduction, three papers, a summary of discussions, and a concluding statement. In the introduction Christiane Hyde Citron defines preventive law as decision making that takes constitutional and case law into consideration and that includes four basic steps: (1)…

This guide is intended to assist planners of job training programs in understanding the connections between the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act and the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) and coordinating programs that receive funds under either or both of the acts. The first section presents overviews of both acts and a chart comparing…

In a study designed to identify information needs of persons who make management decisions about public school vocational education programs in Texas and who develop ways to meet these needs through use of a management information system, particular emphasis was given to the information needs of management within the Texas Education Agency…

Minimal competency testing is the most recent evolution of the accountability movement and of the competency based education movement. It focuses on the basic academic skills of reading, writing, and arithemtic. It presumes the state will set educational objectives, and that the local school district will conduct its program so that the objectives…

Defined as a concept which centers on planning educational needs at the local level, accountability is particularly feasible in small rural schools, since the number of people responsible for education needs is more readily manageable than the number found in urban areas. Designed to familiarize rural parents and other lay citizens with the…

This research brief lists and indexes materials on State education legislation and activity by subject and State. The information was obtained from answers to questionnaires sent to State education agencies, legislative service agencies, teacher organizations, and school board associations. Other information was obtained from materials sent during…

A teacher and mother of a child with mental retardation examined the history and current status of the inclusion movement. A review of the historical background considers the origins of special education, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, major court cases, and requirements of the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with…

This is the fifth report prepared by the Center for Education Reform (CER) evaluating the capacity and flexibility of state laws promoting charter schools. Three primary factors were evaluated in preparing charter-school quality rankings by state. The center finds that the establishment of multiple sponsoring authorities, in addition to local…

This paper recommends developing an infrastructure of federal support and federal assessment of student performance to ensure that schoolwide programs in high poverty neighborhoods are able to meet specific legislative goals. It argues for closer links between the federal government and school districts in helping schoolwide programs develop…

A study reviewed the Adult Education Act's (AEA's) largest program--the State Grant Program, its coordination with federal employment training programs, and the extent to which the program ensured accountability for program quality and results. The study relied on national data in conducting its review and performed more detailed work in three…

This statement of Cornelia M. Blanchette to the U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Reources discusses Department of Education information management systems that support the financial aid programs authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. These programs help the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), the…

The following papers are included: "Valuing Change and Changing Values" (Armstrong); "Raybouldism, Russell, and New Reality" (Benn, Fieldhouse); "The Move to Self-Assessment" (Boud); "Hijacking Experience and Delivering Competence" (Bryant); "The Professional Development Model of APEL [Assessment of Prior Experiential Learning]--Some Problems of…