Considered recommendations made by R. Linn (2000) and made a preliminary determination of the degree of cohesion between the Arkansas Comprehensive Testing, Assessment, and Accountability (ACTAAP) program and those recommendations. The ACTAAP appears to be an exemplary program in the early stages of development. (SLD)

Analyzed questions related to education from a statewide poll of citizens in Arkansas. Overall, views of Arkansans are roughly aligned with those of the United States as a whole. About half of the 775 respondents support school vouchers, most believe teacher pay raises should be related to student performance, and more than three-fifths believe…

Studied the effects of student socioeconomic status (SES), using free- or reduced price-lunch as a measure of SES, on student performance on the Arkansas Fourth Grade benchmark Examination. Results from about 32,000 students indicate that direct comparisons of schools without regard to percentage of free and reduced lunch participation would not…

Conducted a national survey of deans, faculty, and department chairs to isolate what each group perceived as important skills for a department chair to have. Responses of 30 deans, 198 faculty and 56 chairs show some consistency among ratings, with some gender differences and statistically significant differences in seven of eight administration…

Provides an update on the current status of high stakes testing and accountability programs in the United States, conducts a review of important litigation related to high stakes accountability, and highlights best practices for policy makers based on the development of the Arkansas accountability program. (SLD)