Appendix I

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

The purpose of this general management review is to identify the key management issues facing the Department of Education and assess the extent to which its management systems and processes support its mission. General management reviews differ in focus and consequent methodology from our customary work. Typically, our audits and evaluations are done at the request of the Congress and focus on program issues. In contrast, we generally initiate management reviews and through them address such broad, agency-wide issues as strategic planning and human resource management. Such a review depends on the cooperation and support of the head of the agency. Getting action on recommendations that often call for fundamental changes in how an agency operates requires a strong commitment from the top.

Grounded in the experience of successful management consultants,' the methodology for a general management review assumes that the key information about the way the agency functions—its strengths, weaknesses, problems, solutions, barriers to change, and culture-resides in its staff. Some reviews have used questionnaires extensively to tap staff expertise. Another efficient way is through interviews with agency officials. For this study, we corroborated and augmented information from interviews with information from other studies done by GAO, departmental inspectors general, and others and pertinent departmental and other documentation.

We interviewed senior officials at ED and examined relevant documents
and reports (such as in-house studies and task force reports), personnel
statistics from the Department and the Office of Personnel Management,
and GAO, ED's Office of Inspector General, OMB, and Federal Managers'
Financial Integrity Act reports. Our 151 semistructured, in-depth
interviews, primarily with ED's managers, senior executives, and
presidential appointees, included questions on various management
topics. Among these were: strategic management, performance
monitoring, communication, information resources, human resources, and
financial management. We also asked about the interrelations between the
program offices and central support offices, activities and current status of
cross-cutting task forces, innovative programs or activities, and the
strengths and areas needing improvement within the Department. This
report includes information covered in our briefings with the then

'For example, see Gordon and Ronald Lippitt. The Consulting Process in Action (LaJolla, CA:
University Associates, Inc., 1978); Rosabeth Moss Kanter, The Change Masters (NY: Simon and
Schuster, Inc., 1983); Robert R. Blake and Jane Srygley Mouton, Consultation, 2nd ed. (Reading, MA:
Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1983); and Edgar H. Schein, Process Consultation: Its Role in
Organization Development (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1983).

Appendix I

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Secretary of Education in July 1991 and his staff in November 1991 and our letter of August 1991 identifying problems in ED's planning processes and recommending implementation of a strategic management process.

Our work was conducted at ED's headquarters in Washington, D.C., and ED's Dallas and Chicago regional offices between December 1990 and November 1991 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. We updated selected data through September 1992.

Appendix II

National Education Goals

In 1990, the nation's governors, in conjunction with the White House, developed six National Education Goals to be met by the year 2000:1

1. All children in America will start school ready to learn.

2. The high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90 percent.

3. American students will leave grades four, eight, and twelve having
demonstrated competency in challenging subject matter, including
English, mathematics, science, history, and geography; and every school in
America will ensure that all students learn to use their minds well, so they
may be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and
productive employment in our modern economy.

4. U.S. students will be first in the world in science and mathematics achievement.

5. Every adult American will be literate and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

6. Every school in America will be free of drugs and violence and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning.

1ED, America 2000: An Education Strategy. Sourcebook, April 18, 1991.