In the past 30 years, research has suggested the need for much smaller high schools. In response, some administrators have attempted to subdivide big high schools into smaller entities. This digest reviews recent research on the movement to break up large schools and discusses five types of error common to such attempts--errors of autonomy, size,…

Turning around a low-performing school is a complex process in which cause-effect relationships are difficult to isolate. But recent interest in helping low-performing schools--spurred on by the reforms mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act--has generated some useful research and thoughtful analysis. This digest explores some of the key…