ASCHOOL COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT OF THE ALBIA ...

study of goals was prepared by the Cooperative Accountability Project,
1
Denver, Colorado.
This study collected and classified goals of education
15
from thirty-five states.
These goals should only be used as a guide or an
aid to local goal development. PI list of goals such as this should not be
adopted by a local district, because they would not reflect the priorities
of that school district.
The Cooperative Accountability Project recognizes that goals, when
developed through the cooperation of educators and citizens, first serve
to communicate clearly the responsibilities and purposes of education.
These broad purposes, when further translated into performance objectives,
are the standards against which the present status of educational needs
can be determined. 2
Weaver offers some thoughts on planning and goal setting. 3 Weaver
contends that short-term rather than long-term planning of educational
matters and policies dominate educational thinking.
The time lag between
initial policy decision and measurable impact is very long; that is,
investments in education are not recognized in the short run.
Furthermore,
during the time interval between policy decisions and observable
impact, social conditions influencing schools will change.
Weaver says that educational thinking must take into account more
of the future than is now typical.
Alternative plans, policies, and
I Alan Zimmerman, Education in Focus ~ A CollBctio~ of State. Goals
for Elementary and Secondary Education (Denver: Cooperahve Accountability
Project, 1972).
2I bi d •
3 W
• Timothy Weaver, "The Delphi Forecasting Method," Phi Delta
Keppen, LII (January, 1971), 267.