The Chicago (Illinois) School Reform Act of 1988 set in motion a chain of reform efforts that have been the subject of considerable study. The plan emphasizes returning control of the schools to parents and the community through school-based management and local school councils. This book reports on studies of the implementation of the reform…

Three competing models for public school improvement are described as points of reference. The technical transfer model of school reform focuses on how to better transfer knowledge already in the possession of academics. Placing the locus of authority in the classroom is the main issue of the professionalization model for school improvement. The…

The Chicago School Reform, adopted in December 1988, requires the school system to raise its student achievement levels to national norms in 5 years; to reallocate the system's resources away from the administration and toward schools, particularly those with high enrollments of economically disadvantaged students; and to establish Local School…