Builds on earlier research suggesting it is fairly difficult to extrapolate current trends in school performance into the future. Explores two areas of research on school improvement which have, to date, received little attention: (1) trends in performance over time and (2) the incidence of time lagged phenomena. (BT)

Identifies a number of key areas for further research on school effectiveness. The author draws up a framework of questions by which future studies might be assessed. He also argues that certain aspects of the way in which research on school effectiveness is conducted should be rethought. (CT)

The superior performance of girls, especially in terms of GCSE examinations, continues to attract attention. Much of the debate to date, however, has focused on absolute differences in attainment rather than differences in pupil progress. Furthermore, the role of the school in contributing to the differential progress of the two sexes has been…

Fair comparisons on effectiveness can be made between secondary schools if testing results are judged by measures of individual student abilities and attainments. Prevailing approaches to judging schools' effectiveness are explored and suggestions made for improvement. (Author/JD)

This paper looks at underlying patterns of school effectiveness through analysing a GCSE examination data-set over a period of ten cohorts (1993-2002) in one very large English school district. Both value added and raw score approaches were explored by employing different statistical multilevel models to examine time trends of school and pupil…

School-effectiveness researchers have had difficulty quantifying stability in effectiveness over time. Responding to Peter Tymms's argument that Gray and associates have not provided an authoritative statistical analysis of school effectiveness (in a study of 30 British secondary schools), this article asserts that this study was concerned with…

This editorial addresses issues of evaluating school effectiveness, especially in the United Kingdom, with emphasis on use of value-added approaches. It stresses the importance of having a good measure of pupils' prior attainment, the need for noting differences between and within schools, and the finding that most schools obtain results which are…

Variations in the rates, school types, and successful school strategies employed were evaluated with 5 cohorts of pupils passing through 34 secondary schools in 1 British local education agency. The study used a multilevel analytical model which found about one in seven schools improved rapidly over the five-year period, but that differences in…

This book examines educational improvement in Great Britain in recent years. It addresses three concerns: (1) develop better estimates of the extent to which schools have changed in their effectiveness over time; (2) understand the factors and strategies associated with changes in performance across schools; and (3) explore the school-improvement…

Summarizes a study that examined 3 cohorts of pupils passing through some 30 English secondary schools, using examination results as the outcome measure and controlling for prior attainment levels. Offers a multilevel strategy for conceptualizing and modeling data on schools' performance changes over time. Although several schools improved their…

It has long been assumed that schools which were "effective" with respect to one set of outcomes (usually academic performance) were generally more "effective" in relation to others. This article reviews the last three decades of British evidence across a range of affective, social and other non-cognitive outcomes including:…

Uses 11 data sets from 6 local British education authorities to examine the relationship between student performance on fifth-form examinations and school effectiveness. Presents hierarchical linear modeling to account for differences in prior attainment, gender, and social background. Finds few differences in school impact on performance. Urges…