The impact of accountability on U.S. schools, for good or ill, is a subject of debate and research. The authors recently studied an aspect of accountability that had previously received little attention. They asked, do accountability reforms affect public schools' ability to retain their teachers? By analyzing data from the Schools and Staffing…

During the last decade, thousands of visitors have flocked to Finland--now a leader in education rankings--to uncover this small Nordic country's secret to its education success. In this article, Finnish educator and scholar Pasi Sahlberg explains how Finland has managed such a feat. A rigorous graduate degree and at least five years of full-time…

As one survey shows, although collegiality within academic departments determined secondary teachers' innovation norms, conceptions of students, sense of subject area, and enthusiasm, teacher commitment and pride are primarily products of district-level influences. Teacher autonomy without strong district professional community, with its…

Reared in a hierarchical environment, teachers in Germany have had difficulty working with team structures despite the benefit of increased professional autonomy. The Holweide Gesamitschule in Cologne, a large comprehensive high school begun in 1975, developed a plan to diminish big-school anonymity and emphasize cooperation among children of…

In developing a national curriculum, ways must be found to challenge students and teachers, preserve initiative, and maintain democratic control. President Bush's New American Achievement Tests will consist of a system of examinations to be administered by individual states or clusters of states. Conversion should embody a grand,…

In a 1998 study of effective British principals, school staffs agreed that successful heads were values-led, people- centered, achievement-oriented, inward/outward facing, and able to manage ongoing tensions and dilemmas: leadership/management, development/maintenance, autocracy/autonomy, personal time/professional tasks, personal…

Academic standards are central to reinventing schools and transforming U.S. education. Higher standards are necessary to replace minimal standards implicit in most textbooks and tests. Standards communicate that all students can achieve at higher levels and that teachers are reclaiming the profession. Standards also inspire systemic reform, create…