Painless Accountability.

The computerized Painless Accountability System is a performance objective system from which instructional programs are developed. Three main simplified behavioral response levels characterize this system: (1) cognitive, (2) psychomotor, and (3) affective domains. Each of these objectives are classified by one of 16 descriptors. The second major characteristic of the system is that it is based on taxonomics (keyword indexes) of curriculum areas, which might appear in any K-12 curriculum. The third distinguishing feature is a coding procedure which allows an entire objective to be specified in a maximum of 30 characters. Coding of more than 100 objectives per hour is possible. Two of the significant outputs of the system are the performance objective chart, whose major function is to promote continuous curriculum development, and the Management By Objectives System (MBO) which is an economical data compiling aid for administrators in: (1) planning, (2) monitoring, and (3) evaluation. Two printouts from this processing are the Gantt Chart and the monitoring report. The cost for a school district to implement and maintain the computer program is also discussed. (BP)