This descriptive work urges U.S. policymakers to consider the English system of school inspections as a way of expanding our understanding of student achievement. Such an innovation is timely, according to the report, because the No Child Left Behind legislation is coming up for reauthorization. Using data largely from the English Office for…

As an enterprise that relies heavily on state funding, public higher education has long seen its support rise and fall with the boom-and-bust cycle of the economy. This chapter examines how the University System of Maryland repositioned itself as a state system able to thrive in an era of permanently diminished resources and perpetually escalating…

The five-phased plan of action developed by personnel at Kent State has delineated an overall structure of teacher education redesign. Present costs can be computed for each graduating student. Implementation of the new guidelines for teacher education based on emerging needs will change the costs of teacher preparation. The purpose of this…

Models for planned changes in schools are presented in this document and are aimed at increasing student achievement and satisfaction. Following a brief introduction which highlights a challenge for effective change and some suggested procedures for implementing the models, each model is presented in detail. The four models are: (1) The School…

This volume contains a number of articles which examine the crisis in urban education from a scientific, technological, and "total systems" frame of reference, and propose new strategies for making schools more effective and cities more livable. Urban education is viewed within the context of a total urban community system. Management, planning,…

This guide/toolkit is designed as a resource aid for those in schools and communities who are concerned about sustaining valuable initiatives and innovations. The focus is on sustaining valued functions and collaborations. A particular emphasis is on efforts designed to enhance how schools address barriers to learning and teaching. The material is…

School organizations must become responsive and flexible to address rapidly changing social, economic, and demographic conditions. Reform attempts to date have not worked because they were layered on old structures and perceptions in a fragmented, piecemeal fashion. The fundamental transformation of education that is required demands a paradigm…

Every administrator bears primary responsibility for planning the accomplishment of those objectives and activities that fall in his area. When responsibility is relatively restricted, the informal and intuitive methods that constitute "sound judgment" suffice. However, as his area of responsibility widens to include increasingly complex…