Fifty-three educational practitioners, scholars, and school-system officials have contributed to this analysis of administrative-evaluation programs in the nation’s elementary and secondary schools. Designed for administrators and school-board members, but also of interest to parents, teachers, and other educators, this compilation of original and reprinted articles is for those who want to review their evaluation programs or establish new ones. Part I contains observations on the role of school administrators. Part II examines current evaluation systems. Part III discusses implementation and judgment procedures. Part IV offers a sampling of evaluation forms. And Part V compares evaluation procedures in education with those in the business world. The book aims to help those who want to “walk the tightrope between irresponsibility and overresponsibility” in staff evaluation, writes Terrence E. Deal of Harvard University in the foreword. Mr. Zappula is an administrator in the Huntington Union Free School District in Huntington, N.Y.
Juvenile Justice: Myths and Realities, edited by Susan C. Farkas (Fellows in Education Journalism, a program of the Institute for Educational Leadership Inc., 1001 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Suite 310, Washington, D.C. 20036; 134 pages, paper $7.50).
Perceptions of juvenile crime and public policy relating to it are often formed in response to media accounts of specific incidents, according to the director of the iel’s Fellows in Education Journalism program. In this book, journalists from Idaho, Maryland, Missouri, Tennessee, and Virginia present articles that examine the myths surrounding juvenile crime. Based on research compiled during their six-week participation in the iel fellowship program, the reporters present their findings on such subjects as: girls and the law, violent juvenile offenders, juvenile murderers in the District of Columbia, and Virginia’s reform schools.
Guides and Directories
Networking on Purpose: A Reflective Study of the Teachers’ Centers Exchange, by Kathleen Devaney (Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development, 1855 Folsom St., San Francisco, Calif. 94103; 174 pages, paper $10).
The Teachers’ Center Exchange is a national information and referral center for and about teachers’ centers; it is a demonstration project in educational networking sponsored by the National Institute of Education. This book is a study of the Exchange, including an examination of its history and development, the behavioral assumptions that are the basis of its organizational structure, the communication style of its staff members, and the problems it encounters.
Where Do I Go From Here?: A Guidebook for Seniors, by Richard Pratt Prunty (published by Mr. Prunty and Enfield High School, Enfield St. Enfield, Conn. 06082; 76 pages, paper $1.50).
Written by a guidance counselor, this booklet, produced by staff members and students at the author’s high school, is intended to serve as a starting point for students’ discussion of future plans and decision making. The author considers college selection; admissions tests; funding sources; vocational, business, and career schools; the Armed Forces; and the world of work. Although the booklet was written for Enfield High School students, it may offer ideas for other counselors who wish to compile a similar guide.
Other Resources
The Case for the Smaller School, by Weldon Beckner (Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, Eighth and Union, Box 789, Bloomington, Ind. 47402; 41 pages, paper, 75 cents, 60 cents for PDK members).
There is a renewed interest in small schools, according to the author of this booklet, who contends that they offer valuable lessons for educators. Mr. Beckner presents an overview of the small school and discusses the issue of minimum size, the advantages and disadvantages of a small school, meeting the needs of smaller schools, and other related subjects. Mr. Beckner is professor and chairman of educational administration and supervision of Texas Tech University’s school of education.
Tuition Tax Credits: Fact and Fiction, by James S. Catterall (Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, Eighth and Union, Box 789, Bloomington, Ind. 47402; 42 pages, paper, 75 cents, 60 cents for pdk members).
At a time when the concept of federal tuition tax credits for parents of private-school students is being debated nationally, this booklet provides an overview of the tax-credit debate and analyzes how tax credits work. Related chapters address the positive and negative arguments surrounding tax credits, their costs, and their legality. Mr. Catterall is chairman of the department of administrative and policy studies in the graduate school of education at the University of California at Los Angeles.
--Anne Bridgman
