As shown by MetLife's 2010 "Survey of the American Teacher," America's educators strongly believe that all students should graduate from high school ready for college and a career (85 percent). Additionally, according to MetLife's 2009 survey, 86 percent of teachers believe that setting high expectations for students will improve student…

Summarizing recent research, this seven-chapter report gives both characteristics and examples of effective schools and lists recommendations for achieving school effectiveness. Chapter 1 cites numerous recent studies to show that, in contradiction to earlier conclusions by James S. Coleman and Christopher Jencks, schools can be effective.…

Twelve characteristics of effective schools are described, including: (1) academic and social goals; (2) curriculum; (3) rules of conduct; (4) administrator, teacher, and student responsibilities; (5) time on task; and (6) parental and community support. (CJ)

A turnaround school in Mission, Texas proves poverty and underachievement are not synonymous. The 1998 passing rate on state assessments was 90.7 percent, compared to 41.2 percent in 1993. Factors include committed faculty, a strong principal, extended reading practice and instructional time, incentives and recognition, and pre-assessment…

Describes findings from a Madeline Hunter Follow-Through Project in two Napa County, California schools over a four-year period that explored the relationships between program implementation and elementary school children's achievement in reading and mathematics. (Author/HOD)

The efforts of a principal who used ideas concerning use of classroom time generated by the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study to restructure programs at two rural elementary schools are described. Staff development efforts and teachers' reactions are highlighted. Changes in instruction and in scheduling are discussed. (PP)

This speech discusses problems that principals face in trying to implement effective school strategies, describes ongoing research in instructional management, and identifies school improvement strategies used by particularly effective principals. The first section addresses practical problems in finding the appropriate balance between high…

This report describes how the education system in the United States compares with education systems in the other Group of Eight (G-8) countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom. The report draws on the most current information about education from three primary sources: the Indicators of…

This paper presents one researcher's premise that the most important variable in determining classroom effectiveness is the congruence of the delivered curriculum with the desired outcomes or, that students be given the opportunity to learn what is expected of them. This theory presupposes that curriculum expectations be made clear to students,…