Emerging Strategies for Quality Assurance
Missouri: K-12 Performance-Based Accreditation
Missouri
is in the second year of the Missouri School Improvement Program, a five-year
accreditation process for all K-12 school districts in the state. Each year,
over 100 school districts receive an in-depth review reporting on the areas of
resources 
such as facilities, instructional processes, and district performance. As part
of the accreditation process, a site visit of approximately two to five days to
the district is also conducted. Site visit teams include equal numbers of state
department staff and educators from the field. The reports developed as part of
this process are reviewed by the Missouri Department School Improvement
Committee, and a summary of the report and the committee's recommendations for
accreditation are presented to the State Board of Education for approval.
Districts must also submit a School Improvement Plan addressing the concerns
identified by the committee in its review report. Staff members from the
Division of School Services provide technical assistance to district personnel
by phone and through training sessions they hold throughout the state. In
addition, a variety of materials about the Missouri School Improvement Program
have been developed to help districts through the accreditation process.
North Carolina: Educational Excellence Through the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Awards System
Through
the North Carolina Quality Leadership Awards program, six school systems have
volunteered to participate in a pilot program based on the Malcolm Baldridge
National Quality Awards. The award recognizes quality 
improvement efforts in the private sector and is presented annually by the President of the United States in a ceremony in Washington DC to U.S. manufacturing and service companies and small businesses. Using the guidelines of the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award system, North Carolina has tailored the award criteria to "educational organizations" by developing Education Performance Excellence Criteria. School systems in the North Carolina pilot program have made a commitment to improving performance through integrating a model of continuous quality improvement into the fabric and foundation of school and district operations. According to a 1998 guide to
North Carolina Quality Leadership, the Education Performance Excellence
Criteria have two results-oriented goals: [1] delivering value to customers in
dynamic and changeable conditions and [2] building organizational capacity for
continuous improvement. Rather than mandating that school systems participate,
the pilot program allows voluntary commitment and the ability for members of
these systems to be introspective as they prepare to voluntarily evaluate
themselves. It is hoped that this type of self-assessment will lead to a cycle
of continuous improvement and, through that, educational excellence.
Pennsylvania: Providing Incentives Through Performance-Based Funding
In
1997 - 1998, Pennsylvania provided funding to support school performance awards
based on school improvement in student achievement and/or effort. For the 1998
awards, improvement in student achievement was determined using results from
the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) reading and math scores.
Improvement in effort is premised upon the student attendance rate for all
schools. All Pennsylvania Area Vocational-Technical Schools (AVTSs) that have
Department of Education approved vocational-technical education programs are
included in the school incentives program. For AVTSs, the effort component of
the program is the same as for all public schools in the state. However, the
achievement component for vocational schools was modified to more clearly
address the mission of AVTSs. For the years 1997 - 1998 through 1999 - 2000,
the rate of students employed related to their training will be used. To be
eligible for an achievement award, Pennsylvania schools must meet the
guidelines 
for improvement set by the state. Beginning in the year 2000 - 2001, the
achievement component will be based on the level of competency as defined by
scores on a state-approved occupational competency measure. By that time, the
state plans to have had two years of occupational competency testing completed.
Cutoff scores for schools will be set according to the requirements of the
Statewide System for Core Performance Measures and Standards. To support the
requirements of the federally mandated Statewide System for Core Performance
Measures and Standards, in September of 1996, the Pennsylvania State Board of
Education approved the use of the National Occupational Testing Institute's
(NOCTI) Job Ready/Student Assessment or other Pennsylvania Department of
Education (PDE)-approved standardized tests that are recognized by industry
groups or associations who employ AVTS graduates. Currently, 60 Job
Ready/Student Assessment instruments are available, covering at least 85% of
students enrolled in PDE-approved vocational-technical programs. The state is
also considering the use of the Pennsylvania Nurse Aide Competency Evaluation
Program Test, the National Automotive Technician Education Foundation (NATEF)
End of Program Evaluation, the Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Institute
Competency Examination, and the Pennsylvania Cosmetology Examination.
