When charter schools first arrived on the American educational scene, few observers suspected that within two decades thousands of these schools would be established, serving almost a million and a half children across forty states. The widespread popularity of these schools, and of the charter movement itself, speaks to the unique and chronic…

Information from the social sciences, related to the development of substantive content for social science curricula at the secondary school level, is recorded in 16 interviews with small groups of social scientists. A cross-representational team of psychologists and educators conducted these two-and-one-half-hour interviews to obtain the social…

While nothing new is expected and anything significant seems too dangerous, it is still necessary to examine critical problems in the field of curriculum and innovation. The problems and prospects of curriculum may be grouped according to management, structure, and purpose. Information together with an institutional willingness to get the greatest…

This book describes how schools can develop and utilize portfolios as frameworks for evaluating school reform. The portfolio is a nonthreatening self-assessment tool that exhibits a school's goals, progress, achievement, and vision for improvement. Chapter 1 examines the school portfolio as an effective and positive, ongoing monitoring system that…

A set of 13 key characteristics is presented as a framework for educational evaluation studies: (1) program's stage of development when evaluator is appointed; (2) program's openness to revision; (3) program uniformity from site to site; (4) specificity of program objectives; (5) evaluator's independence; (6) evaluator's orientation to value…

In view of the complex changes going on in work and schooling in the United States, organizational innovations are necessary if both institutions are to regain their competitive edge. The nation is pulled by two value traditions: a bureaucratic, centralized control tradition versus the tradition of democratic ideals. The centralized control…