This document is from a featured presentation at the 2018 annual conference of the Science Teachers Association of Texas (STAT). The public schools are a fundamental element of our democratic society, and they have been the pathway to opportunity and a better life for generations of Americans. But at present, the American public school system is…

This article reviews findings from the authors' studies of recovery high schools (RHS), including a 1995 program evaluation of a school in New Mexico (Moberg & Thaler, 1995), a 2006-09 descriptive study of 17 recovery high schools (Moberg & Finch, 2008), and presents early findings from a current study of the effectiveness of recovery high…

This article reports on a first cycle of a larger action research study conducted to determine how Circuit Teams could support School Management Teams of underperforming high schools towards whole-school development. Although it is a mandated requirement by the Department of Education, none of the four schools involved in the study had developed a…

This descriptive study investigates the development of a district leadership coaching program. Specifically, the study examines the creation of a coaching program for elementary principals, the first six months of monthly meetings between the coaches and district leaders, and the perceived utility of the meetings by the district coaches.…

An overview of the first five years of the Louisiana School Effectiveness Study is presented. Major findings from Phase II are offered. School, local, and state recommendations are made. (Author/MT)

An organizational development program was evaluated, which was implemented to reduce disorder in a Baltimore, Maryland, school. The Program Development Evaluation method was used. Increasing consistency of response to student discipline infractions, increasing rewards for appropriate behavior, and imposing peer and teacher support improved school…

Outcomes of the District Wide School Improvement Program (DWIP), a plan to improve Native education in Saskatchewan, are described in this paper. Initiated by the Prince Albert Tribal Council (PATC) and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB), the school improvement model is a community-based developmental model designed to sensitize schools to their…

The Bay Area Comer Development Program's "Readiness Five Phase Plan" was developed to bring the school sites involved in the Bay Area School Development Program (SDP) closer to the mission and goals of the program. To achieve this, a readiness assessment and checklists are used to determine if a site is ready to engage in the program. An…

This paper has two main purposes: (1) to test the central thesis of systemic reform; and (2) to derive lessons about strengths and weaknesses of reform strategies used in policy and practice. It does this by a secondary analysis of case studies of nine Statewide Systemic Initiatives (SSIs) funded by the National Science Foundation. The case…

Findings from a study that examined the implementation of an effective schools development process are presented in this study. The study was designed to track both implementation process objectives drawn from seven correlates of instructionally effective schools and student outcomes from 1988-90 in a small-city school district in a rural state.…

An examination of definition, causes, variables, and strategies of implementation suggests the kinds of data necessary for measuring school effectiveness. By focusing on students who first enter school below grade level standards and by understanding that student learning is embedded in a system of key elements or variables that, over time, are…

This document contains profiles of nine school/business collaboration efforts around the country. The profiles are the result of direct field studies of the programs conducted in 1985-86 and part of a three-year project on school business partnerships that focused on the nature of the school/business relationship and the types of youth being…

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)

In a survey of educational researchers, school and district administrators, and policymakers, 1,818 respondents rated educational practices and policies according to their influence on learning and assessability. Classroom practices, design and delivery of curriculum, and schoolwide practices were rated as more influential than federal, state, and…

Research has found that effective schools can be distinguished from less successful counterparts by five characteristics. These are: strong instructional leadership; high expectations for all students to learn; an orderly and positive learning environment; a carefully developed instructional focus; and regular measurement of student learning.…