The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) replaced the No Child Left Behind Act with great fanfare and enthusiasm. Granting more power to states and curbing what was seen as federal overreach was well received. However, the new legislation maintains a predominately test-based accountability system with a federal mandate for interventions in well over…

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…

The basic premise of this handbook is that effective bilingual programs can occur only within a school context that is itself effective. A foreword argues that: (1) bilingual education programs must be better integrated into the mainstream of local school district programs, and (2) limited-English proficient (LEP) students should be assigned to…

The Seattle Public Schools' effort to define and establish effective schools is described in this paper, a transcript of four coordinated presentations. Ellen Roe, the first presenter, recounts the design of the project. Planning, she states, was begun in late 1981 by a decision seminar (comprised of teachers, administrators, a community…

After describing the programs and staff at Ian Bazalgette Junior High School in Calgary, Canada, this document reviews the problems at the school in 1979 that led to the implementation of the Effective Schools Program. A review of literature related to effective schools precedes an explanation of seven school effectiveness factors adopted by the…

This document comprises the final report of the Regional Exchange project, through which Research for Better Schools (RBS) has provided research-based information, technical assistance, and training services to the states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, to assist state educational leaders in developing and implementing…

Despite consensus on the administrative reforms needed in school effectiveness programs, policy problems are raised when administrators and school boards want to translate research findings on school improvement into practical terms. Although school systems are now using a number of organizational tools that lift standardized test scores (for…

Assembly Bill (AB) 1725 mandates that the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges (CCC) shall develop and implement a comprehensive Community College educational and fiscal accountability system in order to improve student and institutional performance. The system is to be implemented over a 3-year period beginning not later than…

During the 1982-83 school year the Spencerport (New York) Central School District began a comprehensive project to study the effective schools research and its implications at all levels of a suburban school system. A leadership planning team (consisting of teachers, principals, and district personnel) participated in a series of workshops and…

This document is an annual status report summarizing findings of the first full year of operation of the Spencerport (New York) More Effective Schools/Teaching Project. Section 1 describes four documents (reprinted in Appendices A through D) that were developed during the project; reviews the assumptions, concepts, and research findings upon which…

This document is the third annual status report of the Spencerport (New York) More Effective Schools/Teaching Project. Section 1 describes nine documents developed during the project; identifies persons participating in the project; states the applicability of effective schools research to all levels of a suburban school system; and sets forth the…

Four school boards in Ontario, Canada, were selected for intensive case studies to examine the models, policies, procedures, and practices used to stimulate, support, coordinate, and assess the effectiveness of curriculum changes within their jurisdictions. The data collection consisted of (1) documents such as organizational charts,…

School administrators in the 1980's must learn to provide stronger instructional leadership to improve student achievement and restore public confidence in education. School improvement will occur, however, only as a result of changes in attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors. Only when teachers have worked out their own concerns regarding a given…

During the 1982-1983 school year, the Illinois State Board of Education conducted an intensive study of the state's education-for-employment program. The study assessed the role of the state and local school districts in meeting the needs of their vocational, employment and training, career, and adult education programs. The board's study…