The "Forum Guide to Metadata" presents and examines the ways in which metadata can be used by education agencies to improve data quality and promote a better understanding of education data. Supported by metadata-related case studies from state and local education agencies, the guide highlights the uses of metadata from a technical point…

Early education leaders--inside and outside of government--are looking for new ways to improve quality, accountability, and efficiency across many different programs serving young children and their families, and they see investment in data systems as a pivotal part of that effort. However, it can be challenging to develop and implement effective…

This manual has been designed to assist in the conversion of schools to the SIMS (Student Information Management System) School System. SIMS is based on a software package modified for use in the North Carolina Public School System. The term "conversion" refers to the process of changing the current records system to a new one, thus…

This article describes the development of a provider-based outcome measurement system, describing core components and processes, what to measure, who should be involved in the development and measurement process, and what data collection technologies can be used or adopted. Problems in developing model outcome measurement services are presented.…

The efforts are summarized of four Ohio institutions of higher education (Ohio University, Kent State University, Michael J. Owens Technical College, and Lorain County Community College) to develop and improve academic planning and budgeting processes. Supported by a grant by the Ohio Board of Regents and the National Center for Higher Education…

The purpose of this monograph is to present broad considerations related to the collection and analysis of cost information on programs for young handicapped children and to illustrate those considerations with examples of systems used in four rural Handicapped Children's Early Education Program (HCEEP) projects. The two papers in Section I…

Discusses data warehousing, which provides information more fully responsive to local, state, and federal data needs. Such a system allows educators to generate reports and analyses that supply information, provide accountability, explore relationships among different kinds of data, and inform decision-makers. (Contains one figure and eight…

This paper summarizes major experiences and practices of information development units of state-based career information systems which produce accurate, current, and localized occupational and educational information for career planning. It is intended as a guide for states considering setting up a similar system and for staff members in presently…

This monograph describes three types of evaluation that are potentially useful to school-based clinics: needs assessments, process evaluations, and impact evaluations. Two important methodological principles are involved: (1) collecting multiple kinds of data with multiple methods; and (2) collecting comparison data. Student needs can be…

A public utility company uses laser wands to read bar-coded labels on furniture and equipment. The system allows an 80 percent savings of the time required to create reports for inventory control. (MLF)

The Core Data Collection System of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is an automated collection system with interactive edits that runs on IBM-compatible microcomputers. The data collected include information about school districts, schools, school programs, and student characteristics and achievement. This manual…

A procedure called "Services/Requirements Analysis" is proposed as a means of improving input to institutional management information systems. The procedure profiles the office's information needs and limitations and identifies benefit groups, all according to user perceptions and not the assumptions of the technological community. (MSE)

A project was conducted to develop the methods, procedures, standards, and processes to enable adult basic and literacy education programs funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) to submit their student and staff data via computer disk. During the project, the Center for…

This manual provides information on the accountability reports prepared by Miami-Dade Community College for use on federal, state, and local levels. First, an overview is presented of the purposes of the Placement and Follow-Up (P&F) system, uses of the data, and the tasks involved in P&F reporting. The bulk of the manual explains the following…

The document offers guidelines for developing a management by information system for special education services, a system that organizes people, equipment, procedures, and communications to collect and present accurate data that administrators can use to make decisions and to provide information to state and federal governments. Following a…