Retention at university matters. It matters morally, as we know the life chances of people who complete a degree are dramatically improved. It matters financially, as students who leave a university before graduation take their fees with them. And it matters nationally, as the higher the education level of the population, the greater the nation's…

This brief provides a summary and analysis of a survey taken in the fall of 2005. The survey was conducted with a distribution of questionnaires to all of the district superintendents in the state of Arizona. Responses were received from 116 individuals out of a population of 227. These superintendents represented all three types of school…

Many students find it difficult to learn the kinds of knowledge and thinking required by college or high school courses in mathematics, science, or other complex domains. Thus they often emerge with significant misconceptions, fragmented knowledge, and inadequate problem-solving skills. Most instructors or textbook authors approach their teaching…

Restructuring of U.S. agriculture ("neoindustrialization") is having important effects on rural residents, requiring adaptations of supporting institutions such as education. Neoindustrialization involves concentration, specialization, and vertical and horizontal integration of agricultural production and marketing, as well as further…

With the Department of Education's staff remaining stable during a period of increased civil rights complaints, this study examined the Department's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) investigations of discrimination cases involving Asian-Americans. In particular the evaluation looked at 13 specific cases, timeliness and outcomes for fiscal years…

New York State's Education Law requires local school districts with eight or more teachers and all Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) to obtain annual independent audits. They are required to submit annual audit reports to the State Education Department. The Department also requires these entities to obtain a "Single…

This report argues that the academic performance of American students has not declined, but that schools and students are confronting new and higher demands. The fundamental challenge facing American primary and secondary education is how to increase productivity--how to make better use of its resources. In this document, the Consortium on…

Information systems are a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for improving the efficiency of educational systems. Improving the Education Management Information System must be the foundation of any long-term effort to enhance the efficiency of the Nepalese system. Three critical conditions must be met to enhance system efficiency…

Papers on two projects are presented that deal with the effective use of volunteers in rural public libraries. The first paper on simplifying manual circulation techniques, explains a circulation system that volunteers in a rural library can use easily and efficiently. Setting only four due dates a month and filing all materials alphabetically in…

This document is one of a series of student workbooks developed for workplace skill development courses or workshops by Mercer County Community College (New Jersey) and its partners. Designed to help employees improve their use of time on the job, this time management course explains how to establish priorities and control time usage. The…

Urban community colleges can be distinguished from other community colleges in terms of their settings, clientele, richness and diversity of staff resources, and importance to the segments of the population who cluster in major national centers of commerce and government. In light of their unique characteristics, these institutions require study…

As the number of faculty who want to employ instructional development services grows, the resulting demand for personal help strains the resources and facilities of the learning resource center. In the interest of efficiency and productivity, instructional development should be pursued as a team effort of faculty within a discipline, focused on…

Student promotion, repetition, and dropout rates constitute the basic data needed to forecast future enrollment and new resources. Information on student flow is significantly related to policy formulation aimed at improving internal efficiency, because dropping out and grade repetition increase per pupil cost, block access to eligible school-age…

The conditions for effective and efficient provision of distance education in the small-scale integrated mode normal in Australian higher education are outlined in this paper. Criteria for the evaluation of effective distance education are listed as follows: (1) student learning of information and understanding; (2) student satisfaction with the…

While educational researchers in recent years have sought new approaches to educational administration, educational administrators have continued to rely on ideals of efficiency, because efficiency provides a set of tools that they can wield in the internal politics of public education. This paper contends that the politics of efficiency in school…