A growing number of states experimented with alternative governance structures in response to pressure to raise student achievement. Post-Katrina experimentation in New Orleans was widely regarded as a model example of new governance reforms and provided a unique opportunity to learn about the variation in student achievement and behavior within…

Expansion of the use of student test score data to measure teacher performance has fueled recent policy interest in using those data to measure the effects of school administrators as well. However, little research has considered the capacity of student performance data to uncover principal effects. Filling this gap, this article identifies…

The recent research on school or educational leadership is reviewed in an attempt to define some of the major recurring research problems. This paper outlines and describes both methodological problems and organizational perspective problems so that future research efforts can be strengthened. (BW)

Several conceptions of schooling are outcome-bound: input-output models, school effectiveness models, classroom learning models, and systems theory models. Problems with each of these conceptions are identified, followed by a brief discussion of an outcome-free approach in which schools are viewed as cultural ecologies. (BW)

Options are presented for accountability in Chapter 1 schools and identification of low-performing schools. Two options are suggested that could move Chapter 1 toward more local control or toward more national control. In either case, the shortcomings of using normal curve equivalent gains on standardized tests should be recognized. (SLD)

Cross-sectional data are presented on the relation between school achievement and measures of school environment (particularly effective schools characteristics) for 38 high schools, 32 middle schools, and 134 elementary schools in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. School environment was assessed through a survey of 5,500 teachers. (SLD)