This survey of public opinion about Chicago Public Schools charts responses in the following areas: (1) general evaluation of the public schools; (2) grading the staff; (3) the biggest problems facing Chicago schools; (4) a range of proposed reforms; and (5) finances. Characteristics of the respondents and public school parents also are plotted.…

Differences among statewide coordinating boards/agencies and consolidated governing boards/agencies in level of authority for budgeting, program review/approval, and planning for public senior institutions were studied. The potential for effective linkage or integration of these activities was also explored. Forty-five state agencies completed…

A national project designed to examine issues of budget reform and quality improvement in higher education is described. The focus is state-level budget practices and their impact on institutions. Most of the funding for quality improvement has been categorical: a small percent of the budget is set aside to achieve particular quality or…

This tenth annual report of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS)--a permanent, independent agency in the Executive Branch--covers the period which marks the end of the first decade of the Commission's programs, and therefore a review of past accomplishments and a brief history of the origins of NCLIS are included.…

The problems of resource allocation and management within open learning systems in colleges of further and higher education in Britain are discussed in this paper, with particular focus on the deployment of academic staff. First, the components of open learning systems are outlined; e.g., providing materials for students' private study, grading…

This monograph reviews the literature pertaining to inservice education and summarizes its contents relating to several broad themes: planning and instructional concerns in inservice education, problems relating to administration and coordination of inservice programs, and elements common to successful programs. The literature of inservice…

Shrinking resources were a primary reason for the development of systematic program evaluation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, beginning in 1971. The first three programs in the evaluation cycle were also scheduled for accreditation visits by their respective professional associations. Although the three programs are generally…

This study is an attempt to obtain a national assessment that could help inform federal policy. The study looks at all the states in order to obtain an assessment on a consistent basis, is based solely on results of reform--disparities in the distribution of education funds, and examines not only the state's status in a recent time period but also…

The State Planning System (SPS) is a policy-oriented management tool intended to help analyze the interrelated effects of alternative policies and their relationships to state goals. Two pilot-test case studies are described--the SPS tuition policy evaluation conducted in Colorado, and New York's SPS evaluation of the applicability of large scale…

Current approaches to need assessment belong to one of three theoretical orientations: the rationalistic perspective in which need is predicated on the existence of some pathology or deviance from the rational ideal; (2) the empirical position where need is conceived as deviance from a normative or observed state of good health and well-being; and…

Initially undertaken as a review of the achievements of the National Library of Canada during its first 25 years of existence, this study submitted to the Canadian government by the National Librarian includes a set of 11 recommendations for the future development of National Library functions, resources, and services. A brief description of the…

This report addresses current concerns in public education defined as being important to American Jews. Issues discussed include strategies for improving educational quality; the effects of funding disparities, tax credits and vouchers on public education; and the importance of integration and bilingual education in the public schools. Also…

Based on a definition of equity that includes both equality in expenditure per pupil and fiscal neutrality, this paper examines equity in Illinois school finance and makes recommendations for its improvement. Following a brief introduction outlining deterioration of equity since 1977, part 2 describes further reasons for this deterioration. The…

This staff development module is part of one of three groups of career guidance modules developed, field-tested, and revised by a six-state consortium coordinated by the American Institutes for Research. This module is designed for guidance personnel who work in counseling and guidance with students at the elementary and secondary level. The goal…

Causes contributing to academic program audit and review becoming a means of resource reallocation in higher education are considered, along with principles relevant to its management, and major issues surrounding its development and implementation. The current interest in the audit and review of established academic programs is linked to…