What goals should be addressed by educational programs? What priorities
should be assigned to the different goals? What funds should be
allocated to each goal? How can quality services be maintained with
declining school enrollments and shrinking revenues? What programs could
be cut if necessary? The ebb and flow of the student population, the
changing needs of our society and the fluctuation of resources
constantly impinge on the education system. Educators must deal with
students, communities, and social institutions that are dynamic,
resulting in changing needs. It is in the context of attempting to be
responsive to these changes, and to the many wishes and needs that
schools are asked to address, that needs assessment can be useful. Needs
assessment is a process that helps one to identify and examine both
values and information. It provides direction for making decisions about
programs and resources. It can include such relatively objective
procedures as the statistical description and analysis of standardized
test data and such subjective procedures as public testimony and values
clarification activities. Needs assessment can be a part of community
relations, facilities planning and consolidation, program development
and evaluation, and resource allocation. Needs assessment thus addresses
a xiii XIV PREFACE broad array of purposes and requires that many
different kinds of procedures be available for gathering and analyzing
information. This book was written with this wide variation of practices
in mind.