We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of Struggling Schools, a user-generated approach to Comprehensive School Reform implemented in 100 low achieving schools serving disadvantaged students in a Canadian province. The results show that while Struggling Schools had a statistically significant positive effect on Grade 3 Reading achievement, d = 0.48…

The purpose of this guide is to help chronically struggling schools restructure. "Restructuring" means major, rapid changes that affect how a school is led and how instruction is delivered. Restructuring is essential in achieving rapid improvements in student learning. The focus is on helping education leaders choose strategies that…

This report details what happened in Philadelphia's middle schools during the Children Achieving reform effort, a comprehensive, one-size-fits-all reform project. Based on research of the program over a 5-year period, the paper explains why reforms fell short of their intended outcomes. The critical levers for change were content standards, the…

This report discusses an evaluation of the implementation of Whole School Reform (WSR) in New Jersey. It is based on a study intended to update the New Jersey Department of Education (NJ DOE) on the implementation of WSR model programs and strategies in three school cohorts and also outline the technical assistance needs of district and…

This handbook explains site-based management (SBM) in schools to help those who wish to decentralize their operation so that the campus-level staff have flexibility in making decisions that affect the students at their location. The text is divided into four major sections, each devoted to a particular area of concern under the SBM concept.…

Changes in shared decision making as a result of the implementation of school-based management in the Dade County public school system are described in this report. Background information on the school system and its restructuring plan, implemented during the 1987-88 school year, is presented, followed by a discussion of changes in participative…

In 1984 the State of New York mandated participation in the Comprehensive School Improvement Program (CSIP) for elementary schools that ranked in the bottom 9 percent on statewide student competency exams. To discern the overall effectiveness of the program and identify why it appeared to succeed in some schools and fail in others, the changes in…

This examination of the New American Schools Development Corporation initiative in Bensenville (Illinois) details the controversy over the reform effort and argues that factors such as school governance, local control, and school finance played major roles in determining program outcomes. The importance of political influences in reform efforts is…

A summary of an inquiry into the educational system of Newfoundland (Canada) presents the model for change designed by the Royal Commission of Inquiry, and the process used by the commission to obtain information. Public opinion on denominational education is examined, and costs of denominational schooling are explored. The commission sought to…

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funds a 5-year program supporting the start-up of new small high schools of no more than 400 students and the conversion of larger high schools into smaller, more personalized schools or learning communities. This report focuses on the program's first year and compares new small schools, large high schools…

A 5-year project conducted in three comprehensive schools in a small community near Helsinki, Finland, was designed to integrate new information technology into the curriculum and to assist teachers in changing traditional instructional practices. General goals of the project were: (1) to make the knowledge and learning process more active; (2) to…

One of five articles on professional development schools in this theme issue. Discusses six developmental stages of collaboration--formation, conceptualization, development, implementation, evaluation, and termination/reformation--in the implementation of professional development schools at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, including…

Arizona's career ladder teacher incentive program was established by the Arizona State Legislature in 1984 as a component of school restructuring efforts. A comprehensive and long-range developmental evaluation system is being developed for the restructuring program, but the program is at risk of being eliminated due to the negative influence of…