The 1988 Higher Education Reorganization Act established an accountability process for public colleges and universities in Maryland. The law requires the governing boards of these institutions to submit annual performance accountability reports to the Maryland Higher Education Commission. In 1996, the Commission approved a new accountability…

The arts and its various disciplines can stand alone or can join to support and supplement other content areas. Proficiency in the arts includes creating, performing or presenting art, recognizing artistic qualities in works of art, and understanding the historical and cultural contexts in which art is created. This guide for teachers states that…

This document outlines the performance standards for visual arts in North Dakota public schools, grades K-12. Four levels of performance are provided for each benchmark by North Dakota educators for K-4, 5-8, and 9-12 grade levels. Level 4 describes advanced proficiency; Level 3, proficiency; Level 2, partial proficiency; and Level 1, novice. Each…

The standards in this document are based on previous North Dakota standards, national standards, and standards from other states. The purpose of these standards is to provide a framework from which teachers in North Dakota can design their visual arts curriculum. The expectations for the knowledge and skills that students should acquire are…

The University of Hawaii's (UH) three university and seven community college campuses are compared with benchmark and peer group institutions with regard to selected financial measures. The primary data sources for this report were the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Finance Survey, Fiscal Year 1994-95. Tables show data on…

The purpose of this report is to describe the main mechanisms currently in use in Scotland's colleges to ensure that the adoption of good practice actually happens. It investigates how colleges identify and promote good practice in their own institutions; how they develop strategies and processes to ensure good practice is shared, adopted and…

Gives guidance in preventing library staff downsizing or outsourcing: remember the competition, read financial reports and periodicals, identify key library executives and patrons, define the library as a "profit center," market the library, make yourself essential and indispensable, remind users of the library's resources, embrace the…

This discussion of the use of expert performance as the basis for inferring assessment scoring criteria in evaluating student performance considers characteristics of experts and difficulties in use of adult expertise to evaluate student performance. The use of gifted students' performances as benchmarks is suggested as possibly providing…

The recent examination of the curriculum and examination systems of France and the Netherlands overlooks the real process of creating a national consensus around standards in the Netherlands, balancing local autonomy and national standards. A comment by the original authors acknowledges the implications of the Dutch approach for U.S. standards.…

Discussion of electronic library reference services focuses on an overview of the chief methodologies available for conducting assessments of electronic services. Highlights include quantitative measures and benchmarks, including equity and access; quality measures; behavioral aspects of quality, including librarian-patron interaction; and future…

Discusses experiences and outcomes of benchmarking at the Queensland University of Technology (Australia) library that compared acquisitions, cataloging, document delivery, and research support services with those of the University of New South Wales. Highlights include results as a catalyst for change, and the use of common output and performance…

Discusses project work, describes what it is, why it should be used, and how its aims are defined. Highlights classroom management during project periods and provides a list of project goals that relate to domains and benchmarks of the English-as-a-Foreign-Language curriculum in Israel. (Author/VWL)

This article suggests that benchmarking, the process of comparing one's own operation with the very best, can be used to make improvements in colleges and universities. Six steps are outlined: determining what to benchmark, forming a team, discovering who to benchmark, collecting and analyzing data, using the data to redesign one's own operation,…

The first years of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) pilot project to collect benchmark data on college costs and service levels are discussed, focusing on lessons learned, needs identified, current use of the results, and the project's place in the association's long-term research plan. (MSE)

The process of changing was assessed in four schools at the midpoint of a five-year essential schools restructuring effort in Illinois. Cross-case analysis results in identification of factors affecting the change process by examining benchmarks of substantial agreement, observable change, all-school participation, and systemic leadership. (SLD)