Perceptions of school principals about their engagement in evaluation on the basis of student data

This article describes and examines selected data on attitudes and reported behaviors of school principals associated with their engagement in student achievement data based evaluation. The data were generated from a state-wide study of elementary school principals in California. The entire study is presented elsewhere (Glasman 1986, part two, in press). This article deals with data that reflect on data utilization as a marginal tool.     

Merit pay: A case study in a California school district

This paper is a report on a study which examined the possibility of instituting a merit pay plan in a small school district in California. The paper is a preliminary investigation aimed at focusing attention on the substantive issues of merit pay and their effect on instructional performance. The first part of this paper summarizes merit pay in business and industry, merit pay in education, merit pay plans in California schools, and characteristics of the district under study. In the second part, practical difficulties in the district under study are described and analyzed. The third part constitutes the enumeration and examination of conditions which are required for the development and implementation of a merit pay plan in the district. Due to the difficulties in accumulating raw data, decisions on methodologies were made during the process of data collection. These methodologies are described throughout the paper.     

Evaluation of university instructors in the United States: The context

This paper provides an overview of the context within which the teaching function in U.S. universities is carried out. It includes a conceptual scheme for the evaluation of instruction and suggests ways of analyzing evaluation in terms of (a) those components of the scheme which pertain to the instructor and his institutional context, and of (b) those which pertain to the institution and its societal context. The paper ends with advice for university administrators wishing to devise and implement evaluation for instructional improvement.Currently on leave as Visiting Senior Researcher, Ministry of Education, Jerusalem, Israel.     

ENHANCING CHANGE IN PUBLIC AND JEWISH EDUCATION

This article deals with educational change in public education and its implications for Jewish education. It outlines steps taken by a public‐school district in California to enhance student‐achievement test scores. This report sorts the fundamentals of this case, emphasizing the role of evaluation‐driven leadership in bringing about significant changes. Next, it applies these fundamentals to Jewish education, focusing on changes designed to strengthen Jewish identity and Jewish continuity. The article ends with practical implications about training school leaders in evaluation knowledge and skills.