Nearly all school reforms, regardless of their scope or intended target, share a number of characteristics. This report reviews the essential elements of planning, implementing, and sustaining school reform and presents eight key lessons to guide prospective reformers. The lessons are drawn from 12 major studies of education reform funded by the…

This study examined 1,200 adults' understanding of and attitudes toward learning disabilities, through a telephone survey. Additional objectives included the identification of various information sources and testing of potential messages about learning disabilities. Halfway through each telephone interview, a definition of learning disabilities…

The Collection Analysis Project (CAP) was undertaken in response to one of the major recommendations of the University at Stony Brook Libraries' strategic plan. It is the first step in promoting the necessary change to bring collection management and development into conformity with accepted professional practice, and make it more responsive to…

A conceptual framework is developed for analyzing the costs of alternative assessment instruments. The framework will be used in future analyses by the Center for the Study of Evaluation to determine the costs of alternative assessment programs in a number of states. It is important that a distinction be made between costs and expenditures. Costs…

A state mandated evaluation study was done of certain programs and activities of the Mississippi Commissioner's Office of the Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) including the Commissioner's Fund and operations of university foundations and athletic programs. This report presents findings, recommendations, and documentation, as well as responses…

While much attention has been paid to educational reform or restructuring efforts to improve the nation's schools, the fiscal aspects of reform have received little attention. The Education Commission of the States studied 20 school districts in 6 states (California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, and South Carolina) to determine what impact…

This paper presents findings of a study that documented the initiation and early implementation of 22 projects participating in the Educational Partnerships Program, which is sponsored by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI). This study of the first year in a proposed 5-year program, sought to identify partnership structures…

To determine how Hispanic Americans in various professional roles prioritize the importance of school desegregation and its continuation, a brief survey was conducted with approximately 20 people in January 1998. The school segregation of Hispanic students has a long history in the United States, and Hispanics have waged efforts comparable to…

This discussion paper is designed to stimulate dialogue within the United Nations system and the donor community with a view to enhancing the effectiveness of development cooperation. The paper also aims to increase awareness among policymakers about options for change and UNESCO's potential role in the context of the renewal and prioritization of…

One of the more pervasive fiscal trends of the past three decades is the use of state-sponsored lotteries to raise revenue, often earmarked for such publicly supported institutions as public colleges. Evidence exists, however, that lottery revenues, which are unstable in nature, tend to supplant stable general revenue funds. Moreover, lottery…

This document provides background information on educational finance in North Dakota. It examines the use of nonproperty factors in financing education, the quality of education, legal action in the state regarding education finance issues, and the effects of any 1993 North Dakota legislation on education finance. The paper first describes changes…

This document offers administrators a concise approach to the various theories of total quality management (TQM) and the tools necessary to implement these theories at postsecondary educational institutions. The book is divided into four chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the principles of TQM by briefly: (1) reviewing the ideas of TQM leaders; and…

This article discusses two meetings which dealt with developments regarding the National Research and Education Network (NREN). In November 1990, the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University held a symposium entitled "Information Infrastructure for the 1990s," whose participants represented a wide spectrum of economic,…

This paper analyzes the relative funding model developed as part of the reorganization resulting from the 1988 Australian Government's White Paper on Higher Education Policy. This reorganization created the Unified National System which has resulted in fewer but larger higher education institutions. The relative funding model is described in terms…

Americans are solemn about schooling but seldom serious. School reformers routinely announce lofty goals but they seldom offer resources. These goals are counterproductive because expectations are created with little or no possibility of realization. Certainly, nonschool factors are relevant to educational reform, which cannot be properly planned…