This report describes and explains how to use the School Survey of Practices Associated with High Performance, which measures the degree to which schools are engaging in practices associated with high performance. State education departments and school districts can use the survey results to identify and describe school practices associated with…

Traditionally, models of instructional leadership espouse data-informed decision making in response to student assessment outcomes as one of the core school leader behaviors. In recent years, rising expectations from accountability policies and related assessment practices have myriad implications for school districts, specifically in the areas of…

America can no longer afford an education system that fails to use data effectively to guide decisionmaking. The education sector is facing ever-increasing demands to improve student outcomes, reduce burden, increase efficiency, and improve transparency. These demands cannot be met without the strategic and effective use of data. Due to the…

In many school districts, the pressure to raise test scores has created overnight celebrity status for formative assessment. Its powers to raise student achievement have been touted, however, without attending to the research on which these claims were based. Sociocultural learning theory provides theoretical grounding for understanding how…

Conducting and analyzing a school culture audit can be a useful diagnostic tool and can enhance the impact of a school improvement plan. This paper describes the administration of a school culture audit and describes the use of the culture audit results to begin interaction with stakeholders relative to the school improvement process. The emphasis…

This paper describes the Edina School District Profiles, which are composed of multiple indicators from survey data, assessment data, and school demographics. This paper focuses on student/staff/parent surveys and shows how these surveys were developed to represent student, staff, and parent satisfaction levels, needs, perceptions, and opinions on…

This book, intended for the interested layman and the education professional, describes the process and content of standards-driven education reform. It is based on the premise that schools can excel if they benchmark their standards, align their curriculum, and conduct academic analysis to assess progress. Only the highlights appear in the hard…

Examined the usefulness of British Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) reports for educational improvement. After a pilot examination of 21 OFSTED reports, examined the scalar judgments of 11 reports in detail. Findings indicate that the inspection reports are weak and questionable products, not a good base for developing school improvement…

The evaluation of a school improvement program for elementary schools (School Effectiveness Training) and for secondary schools (Secondary School Development Program) provided an opportunity to determine if user participation could increase knowledge use. It was hypothesized that program staff participation might be a solution to the dilemma of…

Recent commission and task force reports calling for significant improvements in American education are considered in this set of three papers, and methods for implementing the recommendations are suggested. In his paper, Glen Harvey reviews the reports, noting the extent to which they fail to consider change implementation research and commenting…

Presents a history of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), focusing on procedural changes from 1969 to date and questions whether NAEP results should be used for accountability purposes. It recommends that NAEP should be insulated from reform efforts and that NAEP's monitoring of population levels of educational achievement…

When a school system chooses to buy into modern computer technology as the way to solve some existing problems and to meet pressing needs, a myriad of new problems and issues are created. However, the new problems are worth solving to allow the system to benefit from the new technology. In other words, the conversion to using the latest computer…

The progress made by 24 League of Professional Schools in increasing the variety, collection, and use of data during 1990-91 is examined in this paper. Three goals of the league are to involve schools in action research for school improvement, increase teacher participation through shared governance, and develop school improvement initiatives.…

Strategic planning, accountability, and restructuring efforts often exacerbate targeted problems because the accurate information required for success is unavailable. This document offers a model monitoring system for utilizing important information by schools and districts. Part 1, "Basic Assumptions About Schools and Districts," explores how…

Highlights several articles that raise questions about the role of research in educational reform. These articles argue over the use of National Assessment of Educational Progress results for accountability purposes; and the advisability of using cost-benefit analysis in critiquing educational reform proposals, and particularly, in evaluating the…