This study asks how government accountability reports are used to influence public education policy. Government accountability reports, called "audits" in Utah, prove to be useful tools for examining education policy. Using a collective case study design examining Utah's Class Size Reduction (CSR) policy, government accountability…

The most recent data available from the National Center for Educational Statistics (2004) estimate that 60% of community college freshmen and 25% of freshmen at 4-year public institutions nationwide complete at least one remedial course. Nationally, fewer than 40% of students who are referred to developmental education actually enroll in…

This critical policy study provides an understanding of the different actors--individuals, interest groups, and other organizations--involved in influencing and defining, through their narratives what public education in BC ought to be, thus capturing the core intellectual dispositions that informed and determined the kind of policy problems that…

In the last few years government agencies have expanded their controls over higher education and thus diminished the autonomy of public insitutions. Some of the recent instances of government intervention were the responses of legislators and government officials to student and faculty behavior they considered irresponsible and disruptive. In…

This article explores the ways in which policy-makers in Arizona, Michigan and Georgia understood the charter concept when adopting charter legislation. Drawing on literature on policy formation, the paper traces both the creation of the charter law in each state, and the underlying rationales that led policy-makers to support the legislation. The…

"Policy and Performance in American Higher Education" presents a new approach to understanding how public policy influences institutional performance, with practical insight for those charged with crafting and implementing higher education policy. Public institutions of higher learning are called upon by state governments to provide…

Some observers of political phenomena are referring to the 1990s as the "age of accountability." Early in the decade of the '90s, articles in periodicals, professional journals and other sources were voicing warnings about increasing public policymaker frustration with higher education and the spreading development and implementation of…

Examines the extent to which state mandates, including legislation, policies, rules, and practices, establish the context within which many student tracking systems are initiated, designed, and implemented. Reviews trends and considers the diversity among state approaches. (DMM)

Californians have identified the health of public education as top priority. The legislature's search for accountability (focused on student assessment) has not been based on a cohesive school-improvement model. Legislators must work with educators to reexamine the entire education system. Educators must push for rational policy. (MLH)

The paper examines policy implications of recent trends toward state mandated assessment of higher education services. Two differing purposes of assessment, that of academic improvement and that of accountability, are distinguished. Current trends in how policy makers and higher educators approach a "new accountability" include seeing…

Offers guidelines, culled from interviews with school board members and administrators, for school-board oversight of charter schools. (LMI)

A historical overview of political events in Illinois that led to the establishment and implementation of a performance accountability system, school report cards, is presented in this report. The discussion shows that although statewide events influenced policymakers, local conditions and ethos also affected the result. The educational…

Designed to promote new direction, accountability, and support for California's community colleges, this concept paper outlines six major legislative initiatives that should be integrated into the Community College Reform Act of 1986. The paper urges that: (1) the mission of community colleges must be given focus, and, for the first time,…

Extension of contract scope has influenced local educational policy in two ways. It has decreased control by politically accountable officials, and it has created a potential roadblock to political responsiveness towards inner-city community groups. (JN)

Since 1946, four major efforts to improve educational outcomes through shifts in governance have occurred in North Carolina. The 1989 reforms were characterized by an increase in rhetoric about local control and initiatives, teacher involvement, and school-based management. This paper surveys the last 50 years of educational reform policy in North…