As charter schools continue to attract lots of political and policy attention, research has emerged suggesting that these schools enroll fewer students with disabilities than public schools. Given that the success of the movement is based on charters being more effective than public schools as determined by test scores, it is not entirely…

In August 2009, the U.S. Department of Education announced opportunities for states and local educational agencies to vie for $3.5 billion in Title I School Improvement Grants targeted at turning around or closing down chronically low-achieving schools. To qualify for a portion of these funds, school districts were required to implement one of…

During the past year, Wisconsin state legislators debated a series of bills aimed at closing low-performing public schools and replacing them with privately run charter schools. These proposals were particularly targeted at Milwaukee, the state's largest and poorest school district. Ultimately, the only legislation enacted was a bill that modestly…

Over the next three years, states will dedicate an unprecedented amount of federal funding to school improvement efforts at approximately 5,000 of the nation's lowest achieving schools. The $100 billion for education appropriated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), also known as the stimulus package, included an…

This paper examines the impact of vouchers in general and voucher design in particular on public school performance. It argues that all voucher programs are not created equal. There are often fundamental differences in voucher designs that affect public school incentives differently and induce different responses from them. It analyzes two voucher…

The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory asked state department of education staff members of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana to recommend Title I schools that had made significant improvement in student achievement. The Title I schools have schoolwide or targeted assistance and vary in size, grade configuration, diversity, and…

Based on a review of recent research on school effects and workplace psychology, this paper hypothesizes that three core concepts comprise teacher organizational commitment: (1) belief in school goals and student learning ability; (2) intention to remain an active member of the school; and (3) willingness to exert extra effort on the school's…

This paper contains findings of a study that investigated the extent to which three schools nationally recognized for their change efforts could provide evidence of systemic change. The conceptual framework was developed from the following sources: (1) the effective-schools movement; (2) structural reform; (3) the middle-school movement; (4)…

Summarizes the development of a restructuring model of Poudre High School (Colorado) begun in 1989 with the creation of a three-tiered framework: (1) central variables such as teacher expectations, curriculum, and assessment; (2) enabling variables, including support services, governance technology, and cultural awareness; and (3) supporting…

This guidebook is designed to serve as a resource and road map for restructuring schools, focusing on the development of a systematic process to implement and manage change. Chapter 1 defines restructuring as the reform of school-organizational relationships and processes to increase student learning and performance, with a focus on the following…

This synthesis report examines the 30-year history of educational change to identify differing perspectives, strategies, and adoptable principles. Three influential perspectives in educational change have been: (1) the rational-scientific perspective positing that change is created by dissemination of innovative techniques; (2) the political…

The effective schools approach and restructuring are two overlapping and sometimes compatible strategies for school improvement. The effective schools approach allows teachers to choose from a menu of proven strategies, whereas restructuring presents a blank slate in hopes of more radical solutions that support more teacher ownership. (SLD)

This article reviews five frequently cited attributes of effective schools, presents steps in creating significant schools, considers the importance and role of talent development, and describes relevant applications of the Creative Problem Solving framework to synthesize school improvement and talent development efforts. (DB)

Presents the background and description of "School of the 21st Century" and "School Development Program" models. Describes the first implementation of the integrated model called CoZi, findings regarding the implementation, the expansion of the model to three pilot schools in different types of communities, and plans for…

Schools must change to meet the demands of an increasingly diverse population of children, many of whom are at risk of leaving school unprepared for a productive adult life. Research-based evidence indicates that the process of change has been a neglected area in policy implementation. The key factor is "facilitative leadership,"…