The George Mason University (Mason) offices responsible for institutional reporting and assessment were merged to strengthen and solidify their functions and expertise. The organizational structure creating the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning (OIEP) was intended to engineer a new paradigm where assessment would inform the…

The passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) marked the beginning of a new development cycle for accountability systems. State leaders once again have an opportunity to redesign their accountability systems based on the provisions included in ESSA and to ensure that systems improve outcomes for all students. The correct identification of…

This guide was developed to empower individuals and organizations to solve social and educational problems. It is intended for use by anyone interested in leading groups in developing programs to improve education. The principles and methods that it contains are based on psychological theory and research, and it is intended to stimulate effective…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) requires states and the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) to define and determine whether schools are making adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward meeting the goal of 100 percent academic proficiency. To address tribes' needs for cultural preservation, NCLBA allows tribal groups to…

Eight issues in planning and implementing outcomes-focused assessment are presented including: multiple measures are more desirable than a single standardized examination, faculty involvement is essential, performance-based funding should be derived from additional resources, etc. (Author/MLW)

Under the direction of the Superintendent of Schools, a comprehensive needs assessment of Hawaii's public school system was conducted from September 1998 through February 1999. This final report contains the findings of the needs assessment, together with integrative conclusions that report the major findings in a way that will provide the…

The evaluation and research unit of the Syracuse University Center for Instructional Development is described. The center provides information relative to courses, curricula, academic and nonacademic programs, academic and nonacademic administrative concerns, and institutional issues. The development of a new teaching assistant orientation program…

The danger of using student performance as a basis for budgeting and program accountability is that it promises accountability through simple measurement of complex realities, with qualitative measures overwhelming less precise qualitative measures. (MSE)

The Guidance and Counseling Task Force of the California State Department of Education was charged with the task of studying the pupil personnel services available to students in California schools and of developing a plan for improving and extending those services where needed. This document is the result of more than a year of study and direct…

The Flint (Michigan) Community Schools developed a four-phase School Improvement process model. In Phase 1 (Commitment), school district and administrative support were obtained and pilot schools were selected (one elementary and one middle school). The principals of these schools and one teacher representative from each received training in…

The goals of this project are to assist schools in developing community ranked educational goals, to assess needs (i.e., to determine how well community ranked educational goals are being met), and to determine who among a number of groups are responsible for carrying out the goals as viewed from the local schools level. The concept of shared…

A research project was developed for New York City public schools to improve student achievement based on analysis of school performance and subsequent development of corrective action evaluated within a framework of accountability. The program was composed of: (1) participation in the decision making process by various special interest groups;…

Describes developments in the fields of learning theory, assessment, and politics of national and state assessments. Shows how use of these developments and modern assessment and evaluation methodologies can address some long-standing problems in Chapter 1 evaluation. Focuses on linking classroom and school improvement with Chapter 1 program…

This reference manual guides users in developing or amending school improvement plans for the 1993-96 Performance-Based Accountability Program (PBAP) of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The PBAP was established with the passage of the state's School Improvement and Accountability Act (1989). In addition to establishing a…

The Pennsylvania School Improvement Program (PSIP) was created to assist local schools and school districts in the development of curriculum improvement strategies. The process involves the use of "linkers," curriculum specialists who work with teams from the local level to ascertain needs, then connect the local teams with the research…