This paper discusses the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) and its impact on school facilities planning and community involvement in related decision making. Since 1900, the pattern of rural school reform, nationally and in Kentucky, has been one of increased state and federal control, with cost effectiveness and equity the primary criteria in…

This document is intended to assist South Dakota schools in the development and implementation of Gifted Education Plans, and includes state laws and rules pertaining to gifted education, guidelines for reporting, and explanations of the necessary components of a district's written plan. A brief statement of philosophy addresses characteristics of…

This report describes how successful statewide programs of educational standards and assessment are established and briefly discusses causes of program failure. Four key stages characterize effective program establishment: (1) planning, (2) development, (3) implementation, and (4) monitoring. Planning involves interaction among all parties, for…

Presented are a summary and proceedings of a workshop on community college issues of legislative concern. The summary report begins with Patrick Callan's paper, "The Question of Mission," which assesses the changing role of community colleges in the western states. The remainder of the report highlights the key points of the formal presentations…

The month-long teacher strike in 1987 was the impetus for a wave of reform efforts directed toward the Chicago, Illinois, school system. State legislation of far-reaching reforms, the governor's vetoes, and a subsequent reconvening of the legislature resulted in a restructuring and decentralization of the school system. Many of the reforms are…

Past events, present conditions, and future possibilities provide the context for this examination of the direct or indirect control of college curricula by governmental agencies. The paper first notes that while external management may be resented by educators who are entrenched in the status quo, government intervention into college instruction…

This paper describes the response of the Chicago school district to an Illinois State board of education directive that local school districts have an ongoing program of assessing student achievement and educational programs. The minimum competency testing program in place before the directive is discussed. The testing program and the nongraded…

In April 1979, the Board of Governors took a number of actions related to community college financing. They adopted principles of accountability which offered guidelines for: a planning and evaluation process; measurable statewide educational objectives; annually updated district plans to describe all program changes, district objectives, budgets,…

The panel which conducted this study was invited by the Florida Teaching Profession--National Education Association (NEA) and the NEA to assess the educational soundness of implementation of the Florida Accountability Act. The panel felt that the overall purpose of the accountability program was praiseworthy, but that the minimum competency…

The major distinctions between evaluation and research are examined, the chief differences being the intent and type of criteria against which judgments are made. Conceptualization of the evaluation process in higher education is discussed on two levels. A collection of nine similes for understanding evaluation is examined in terms of major…

This paper examines how English language learners (ELLs) are provided for in the U.S. public school system and whether they are receiving an equitable education. It focuses on: the development of assessment and accountability in the education of ELLs; the education of ELLs in San Francisco, California, whether there was great controversy over how…

This paper presents an examination of case law on faculty tenure and promotion as they are affected by institutional financial exigency and an examination of case law on personnel and faculty evaluation. An opening section reviews growing demands for accountability in higher education including legislatively mandated assessment of faculty and of…

This report analyzes the progress made in implementing the Illinois Board of Higher Education's policies on undergraduate education, focusing particularly on public university and community college efforts to implement the Board's policies on student achievement, scholarship and general education and on faculty effectiveness and excellence in…

Summaries are presented of the problems and issues of minimum competency testing which were discussed at four regional conferences for political and educational practitioners. The Education Commission of the States sponsored the conferences, but took no official position of support or opposition. Section 1 compares the legislative, practitioner,…

State leaders, parents, and business people want to be sure that students truly learn what they are being taught in school. Today, basic skills are not sufficient to guarantee that children will find good jobs and become productive citizens. As a result, the Alabama State Legislature passed its Education Accountability Law in 1995. The new…