And Responsibilities Relating to the Modern Educational Climate

In 1995, a group of school administrators affiliated with the Indiana Executive Fellows Program identified important educational issues. This paper presents findings of a 1997 study that asked a different sample of superintendents to rank a list of educational issues on the basis of importance. Questionnaires were sent to 325 superintendents in Illinois, Massachusetts, and Texas. The overall response rate was almost 71 percent (n.320). The questionnaire asked superintendents to judge each of 25 issues as "less important, " "more important, " or "of the same importance " as in 1995. The superintendents rated 18 issues as having the same level of importance as assigned by Indiana administrators in the 1995 survey. The superintendents ranked three issues--educational goals, the religious right, and outcome-based education--as having less importance in 1997 than in 1995. They rated technology, school finance in general, state testing programs, and school-finance equity as more important issues for 1997. The majority of the 1997 sample believed that responsibility for education is the responsibility of the state and local governments. (LMI) * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * cs