In this article, the author discusses Response to Intervention (RtI), a school-wide system of intervention. One of the advantages of RtI in the diagnosis of disabilities is that it allows schools to intervene early to meet the needs of struggling learners. RtI also maps those specific instructional strategies found to benefit a particular student,…

The Baltimore Curriculum Project brought direct instruction (DI) and core knowledge (Core) to several Baltimore City public schools. This article describes implementation of DI and Core at one elementary school, documenting the dramatic growth in student achievement since implementation of DI in reading and examining distractions that interfered…

This study presents a rare opportunity to systematically examine the relationship between teachers' implementation of the America's Choice comprehensive school reform model and gains in student learning in an urban, at-risk school district. The results provide empirical evidence of relationships between student learning gains and variation in…

This report describes the first year of implementation of the 5-year Accelerated Schools Project (ASP) at Blanche Pope Elementary School in rural Oahu (Hawaii). ASP trains school staff and community members to transform governance, curriculum, and instruction in schools serving predominantly at-risk and minority, low-achieving students. In…

Success for All, a comprehensive schoolwide reform program for elementary schools serving many children placed at risk of school failure, was first piloted in one Baltimore (Maryland) elementary school in the 1987-88 school year. Since then, the program has expanded rapidly; as of 1998-99, it was in more than 1,100 schools in 300 districts in 44…

Despite the blizzard of reform activity since 1983, neither state legislation nor state education department mandates have diminished the failure rates of at-risk youngsters. One-third of all elementary students are at risk of failing academically. This paper reviews past state department of education reform efforts and suggests innovative ways…

Shows how five key dimensions of efficient production organizations have been applied directly to improving school productivity through a national school reform effort, the Accelerated Schools Project. Substantial productivity gains can be obtained at a marginal cost (less than 1% of the school budget) through transforming schools to improve their…

Beginning in 1990, the United States and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) conducted an international, 14-nation study of programs for at-risk children. This report presents findings from the second year of the study, during which the Planning and Evaluation Service of the U.S. Department of Education reviewed the…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the effectiveness of the guidance program used by change agents in the Dutch School Improvement Project (NSIP) on program implementation. Sixteen schools composed the experimental group and 13 made up the control group. The experimental variable was the guidance strategy of the NSIP. The two…

This paper provides an overview of the research base on the influence of schools, families, and communities on the learning and educational resilience of children in at-risk circumstances, as well as illustrations of current policies and programmatic approaches that place health development and educational success as integral components of…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the process of building staff commitment during the earliest phase of comprehensive school change, or "courtship" phase. Participant observation in a northwestern urban school district was conducted at three low-achieving elementary schools that implemented the accelerated schools model.…

The 27 school reform models presented in this publication have been supported, at some time in their development and dissemination, by the National Institute on the Education of At-Risk Students in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department Education. As part of its mission, the Institute supports the development of…

The Chicago (Illinois) School Reform Act of 1988 set in motion a chain of reform efforts that have been the subject of considerable study. The plan emphasizes returning control of the schools to parents and the community through school-based management and local school councils. This book reports on studies of the implementation of the reform…

This manual is designed to assist California school personnel to respond to the increasing diversity in student populations, with a change process based on principles of shared leadership through a decentralized site-based management method. The organization change model utilized by the pilot schools is the California Local Education Reform…

This report details results of the 1995-96 study of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) Preschool Programs, the fifth such evaluation of the state-mandated preschool programs of at-risk 4-year-old children and 3- and 4-year-olds with disabilities. Following an executive summary and explanation of the methodology for the evaluation, this…