This article reviews the literature and explores the institutional and systemic factors that help and/or hinder change and innovation across school systems, with a focus on evidence from England. A number of authors have argued that schools and school systems need to become more innovative and adaptive if they are to meet the needs of 21st-century…

School boards and other collectives have responsibilities for which they are accountable. If a collective group or school board is charged with irresponsibility, it may try to exonerate itself by offering an excuse. Acts by school boards and individual educational authorities must be considered carefully before responsibility can be determined.…

Student achievement in American schools must improve dramatically if all young people today are to have equal access to the labor markets and be contributing members of society as adults. Currently, only 20 to 25 percent perform proficiently. Standards-based education reform aims to raise that level to at least 75 percent of students mastering the…

Critical issues concerning the state takeover of local school districts are outlined in this paper. Three major topics are addressed: situational factors leading to intervention; the legitimacy of state power; and appropriate beneficial conditions of state takeover. The most frequent reasons for state intervention involve concerns about equity,…

Describes alternatives to bureaucratic centralism in the administration of national education systems. Discusses forms of decentralization based on political rationales (liberalism, federalism, populist localism, participatory democracy) and those concerned with quality or efficiency (pedagogic professionalism, management by objectives,…

This paper explores what happens to the old central office when the familiar top-down structure of school governance is replaced by a charter-district system in which independent public schools operate on charters or contracts. For the most part, the paper examines districts that authorize and oversee a significant number of charter schools,…

This short paper discusses the advantages of and outlines key design issues for creating charter districts. The design issues are divided into three categories representing the three central elements of the environment the districts are trying to create for their schools: the opportunity to perform, incentives to perform, and capacity to perform.…

To ensure that school districts and schools meet acceptable performance levels, many school districts and states have enacted various accountability policies. Two of the most controversial approaches to accountability are reconstitutions of schools and state takeovers of school districts and schools. For each approach, this policy brief presents…

This report presents findings on a series of surveys conducted from 1998 through 2002. The findings: (1) Parents, teachers, and students believe that setting standards and enforcing them promotes learning; (2) standards and promotion policies have changed in recent years, and attitudes about local schools have improved; (3) the majority of parents…

The context of school district governance is changing and becoming more complex. The individual roles of school board members and superintendents, and the relationship between school board members and superintendents are becoming increasingly important in light of the recent mandates for high student achievement. This brief looks at issues…

This brief paper suggests that state leaders create charter districts in which all or most schools are charter or contract schools. Such districts, according to the paper, would help policymakers create school systems that focus on student achievement and provide high-quality choices to students and parents. The paper examines why charter…

In January 2002, Ireland's minister of state announced the establishment of the National Adult Learning Council to take effect in March 2002. One of the council's priorities will be to establish local adult learning boards (LALBs) to oversee development and delivery of adult education. An Irish government white paper recommended that LALBs'…