An effective way to help develop a strong rural educational program is to establish a business partnership between the rural school and the business community. Once a relationship is set up, the advantages for both the schools and business community could prove beneficial to the entire rural community. By cooperating with the rural schools in…

The strengths and weaknesses of the traditional external quality controls exerted by government and accrediting bodies to monitor colleges and universities are examined, along with the importance of institutional self-regulation. Government involvement in American higher education is traced historically, showing that until recently the oversight…

Quality system awards offer blueprints for assessing quality in vocational education as well as in business and industry. The three most prestigious awards recognizing quality improvement in business and industry are the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award, Deming Application Prize, and ISO 9000 Registration. When comparing standards for the quality…

Studies concerning attributes of quality in higher education as defined in academic studies are reviewed. Separate reviews are presented for studies of quality at the graduate level, in professional programs, and at the undergraduate level. Academe's continuing attempts to quantify "quality" so as to measure it empirically rather than subjectively…

This digest in a question and answer format, provides basic information on cluster grouping of gifted students. Questions address such concerns as: the meaning of cluster grouping, differences between cluster grouping and tracking, advantages of cluster grouping, learning needs of gifted students, the argument that gifted education is elitist, the…

This compilation of 57 activities adapted from 32 different publications addresses 5 of the 18 needs and recommendations for water quality curricula made by Elaine Andrews in the publication "Assessing National Water Quality Education Needs for the Nonformal Youth Audience." The needs include: approaching water-related ecosystems in a…

This digest provides an overview of forces, both internal and external, driving change on community college campuses. External agents of change are: (1) societal needs and expectations, which are shifting toward multicultural diversity; (2) international competition, requiring that workers be highly skilled in adapting to international cultures;…

An urban school district affected by testing in the effective schools context is described in order to provide examples of the effects of testing on teaching and the curriculum. The report describes the method of operationalizing the effective schools research using test information. An important catalyst to improving the instructional program was…

In 1991, the U.S. Congress commissioned the Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement to investigate the various aspects of education reform. This digest summarizes the findings of a resulting study that focused on the effects of school reform on students at risk. The digest identifies the components of effective…

This yearbook provides special education information (for the period July 1, 1985 to June 30, 1986) including federal policy actions, state policy, important reports, statistical data on exceptional students served and personnel employed, and directory listings of key offices and officials concerned with special education. Summaries are presented…

Quality physical education programs taught by well-trained physical education specialists are an integral part of the total education of a child. This Digest describes the history and development of national standards for physical education by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE). In 1995, NASPE published a general…

The movement toward school consolidation was triggered by James Bryant Conant's contention that larger schools are more efficient and offer more comprehensive programs. Many studies seem to support the claim that larger schools are cheaper to operate. Yet problems with these studies include wide variation in the minimum, optimum, and maximum sizes…

The essays in this collection provide contrasting points of view on a number of community college issues that have become more pressing during periods of economic constraint. The volume contains: (1) "Part-Time Faculty: The Value of the Resource," by William R. C. Munsey; (2) "Part-Time Faculty, Full-Time Problems," by David Hartleb and William…

Recent concern for the quality of education has placed pressure on school administrators to assess and upgrade the competency of their teaching staff. No simple formula exists for measuring teacher competency, however, nor are any new methods guaranteed to improve the quality of instruction. Nevertheless, through a combination of clinical…

Contemporary models of school reform acknowledge the principal as the passport to school success and the manager of an increasingly complex organization. This digest asserts that principals benefit from professional development that examines best practices, provides coaching support, encourages risk taking designed to improve student learning,…