The primary purpose of the District Capacity Assessment (DCA) is to assist school districts to implement effective innovations that benefit students. The "capacity" of a district to facilitate building-level implementation refers to the systems, activities, and resources that are necessary for schools to successfully adopt and sustain…

A Regional Education Agency (REA) functions as a partner with local districts and the State Educational Agency (SEA). REAs provide training, guidance and support intended to enable school districts to operate efficiently and improve their student outcomes. The primary purpose of this Regional Capacity Assessment (RCA) is to assist regional…

Regardless of where you are in your school improvement process, here's a book that helps you make sure you have all the right elements working for you in the right way. The authors take you through the core processes that are essential for all school improvement efforts--from establishing your mission to differentiating your supervision based on…

This manual is designed to help schools make successful school reform a reality. It provides the background and perspectives necessary for a school constituency to understand the current climate of education reform in the United States and what is known about successful school reform. The manual also provides inquiry-based techniques for…

This document presents an overview of the design and implementation stages of the Spencerport (New York) More Effective Schools/Teaching Project. The first section lists nine reasons for the uniqueness of the Spencerport project, including district size, its racial and economic components, participant satisfaction, a set of clearly defined goals,…

This planning guide begins with a working definition of "magnet school" and then gives short descriptions of six sample types of elementary level magnet programs: a fundamental or academic prep school, a Montessori school, a music academy, an earth science school or environmental center, a bilingual-multicultural magnet, and a fine arts academy.…

This document presents an overview of the design and implementation stages of a Spencerport (New York) project, designed to improve the educational program and student learning in each building in the district. The first section describes the project's goal for each building, which is that (1) 95 (or greater) percent of all students should…

This planning and development guide suggests that careful, comprehensive, long range planning combined with gradual program implementation and effective administrative leadership can create responsive middle school programs. Sample sequential objective charts and activity lists are included. (DCS)

Middle level education needs personnel specifically educated for and committed to working with the middle level age group and program, and this requires the development of sound middle level teacher certification requirements and programs. (Author/DCS)

School psychologists constitute a major available resource to administrators and school boards as they develop comprehensive plans to increase educational effectiveness and student achievement. This publication shows how school administrators and board members can obtain the greatest return on their investment in school psychological services.…

This paper describes the model and process developed by the Connecticut education department to assist schools in improving their effectiveness. The report offers an operational definition of the term "effectiveness" and summarizes the research that provides the conceptual base for the model. The characteristics selected from this…

This document outlines the major points of the first annual status report of the Spencerport (New York) More Effective Schools/Teaching Project. Section 1 contains a list of 15 basic principles and assumptions upon which the project is based. Section 2 presents three conclusions drawn at the end of the first year and a half of the project. First,…

This document is the second annual status report of the Spencerport (New York) More Effective Schools/Teaching Project. Section 1 describes six documents developed during the project; identifies persons participating in the project; reports that the effective schools research is applicable at all levels of a suburban school system; reports that…

Major technical issues concerning the assessment of student learning in higher education are presented in light of the authors' own knowledge of principles and methods of testing and measurement. This information is intended to help academic administrators and faculty draft a charge to a committee for the design and implementation of an assessment…

The general meaning of research data drawn from study of school improvement programs creates the opportunity for sound theory building. By emphasizing the principal's role in policy development, this paper analyzes the characteristics of large-scale educational innovation projects and their explanatory foundations. Belgium's comprehensive Renewed…