In view of the national attention that has recently been brought to public school improvement, a list of suggestions is presented in the form of leading questions to guide communities in assessing the quality of their local schools and in promoting beneficial change. The evaluative questions touch on a wide range of issues: school financing…

A survey assessing the status of foreign language and international studies instruction in Colorado in elementary, secondary, and higher education, and the needs of the international business community for individuals trained in these areas, is presented. Teachers and administrators at each of the three levels were surveyed. Response rates were…

The premises, platform, and strategies of the second phase of the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges (AACJC) Putting America Back to Work campaign are outlined in this paper. The section outlining premises contends that the United States' economy is in trouble; that economic problems are bound up with international marketing;…

In the context of findings from the recent nationwide studies and reports on the status of education, this paper focuses on the program assessment, instructional planning, and resource allocation efforts of the Rochester (New York) School District. The first phase, the Rochester Assessment Project, began with informal meetings between the…

The California Assessment Program (CAP) presents the Survey of Basic Skills report for grades 3 and 6 of an Alameda County elementary school for 1982. This report begins with an overview of school and district achievement and progresses to more detailed information related to performance in specific skill areas and scores for different groups of…

Effective schools are those that successfully impart basic computation and communication skills plus some knowledge of the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. School effectiveness should be measured by looking at the total learning environment and outcomes for all students. This environment consists of three identifiable aspects--ideology,…

An overview of Michigan State University's (MSU) Refocusing, Rebalancing, and Refining (R3) process is presented. R3 is a concerted effort to assure that MSU is doing the right things at the right time, addressing the changes which are exerting powerful influences on MSU's future. It is also a document describing the strategic planning process.…

Assessment is discussed as a formal and overt manifestation of quality control. With some experiences in Swedish nursing education taken as the point of departure, assessment is discussed as: (1) a policy implementation and curriculum problem concerning the interpretation and exercise of programs by those in control; (2) a teacher problem…

As part of the final report by the Arizona Board of Regents' Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and Competitiveness, information on statewide activities on assessment and outcomes measurement is presented. The information comes from a 1986 survey by the Educational Commission of the States, American Association for Higher Education, and State…

As schools move from corporate to collegial forms of organization, it will become necessary to adapt evaluation systems to collegial environments. This paper outlines a system that utilizes features of professional self-regulation from higher education while maintaining dispute resolution mechanisms from the public sector. Features of the system…

The Title I/Chapter 1 Technical Assistance Centers (TACs) were originally created to provide assistance to state and local education agencies in implementing the Title I evaluation and reporting system. However, over a 10-year period, TAC role has changed significantly. Its service foci have evolved from providing evaluation assistance to helping…

The National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) conducted a national survey to determine the status of local campus initiatives in student outcomes assessment. Its goal was to determine whether assessment programs have been or are being developed, the objectives and source of initiation, and assessment techniques. Of…

An analysis of what is currently known about the benefits and costs of assessment programs from the general perspective of state higher education policy is presented as a working paper in the final report of the Arizona Board of Regents' Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and Competition. State and institutional approaches to assessment in…

This Texas Education Agency (TEA) pilot study sought to identify a valid, reliable, and manageable way to use the expanding "effective schools" database to guide school accreditation development. The theoretical basis for the incorporation of effective schools correlates into the Campus Effectiveness Model (CEM). The underlying…

The Music Curriculum Steering Committee of the Greater Albany (Oregon) Public School District 8J developed its own tests and evaluation procedures to accumulate data on music achievement and performance levels from students in third, fifth, eighth, and eleventh grades. Tests for third and fifth grade students focused on musical notation, listening…