As states consider non-academic measures of school quality for their accountability plans under the Every Student Succeeds Act, few are choosing to focus on the school climate in which students learn. That's not a surprise, given concerns about the validity and usefulness of existing climate surveys. However, the authors argue, a recent study…

When students are hopeful, they do better in school and in life. Hopeful students have better grades and score higher on assessments. The Gallup Student Poll finds that about half of U.S. students are hopeful. Principals and other adults in a school should spread hope among students by creating excitement about the future, teaching students the…

Student opinion polls offer an inexpensive means of improving communication between elements of the college community that tend to have conflicting purposes and perceptions. They permit decision-making on the basis of factual information as opposed to guesswork. (Author/IRT)

Interviews with 204 students in seven secondary schools concerning the activities in school that gave them a sense of accomplishment revealed that 21 percent of the respondents could think of none. Moreover, another 31 percent could think of nothing related to the curriculum that gave them a sense of accomplishment. (Author/WD)

Elementary school teachers feel inadequately prepared to teach science and spend little class time on science instruction. Until undergraduate science preparation improves, inservice training must take up the slack. An inservice program developed by the Science Education Center at the University of Texas' College of Education shows positive…

Reports on a survey of school superintendent job satisfaction. (IRT)

According to the respondents (state department of education personnel), mainstreaming activities have progressed significantly since 1971, with only a relative minority, roughly one-fifth, of the districts lagging behind the others. (Author)

Although the margins were narrow, the group of Whites that consistently expressed greatest support for desegregation was the subsample of parents whose children were directly involved in an integration program. (Author)

Based on responses to opinionnaires, questionnaires, and public forums, the final report of the People's Forum on Education lists 15 specific areas that are primary concerns of the people of New Mexico. (Author/IRT)

A survey of 188 employees of the Chicago school system sought to determine their attitudes about the recently established residency requirement. Fifty-four percent of the respondents opposed the requirement and a majority felt the residency policy would not fulfill the objectives of city officials. (Author/WD)

While in general agreement with the Gallup Poll's expression of what is wrong with the schools, the North Carolina high school students surveyed see the major source of difficulty as lack of personal commitment by all those who are most closely involved in public education. (Author/IRT)

Presents the results of a survey that gathered opinions on the governance and substance of teacher education programs. (IRT)

Two surveys (15 months apart) of K-12 teachers in one Missouri district used the Teacher Skill/Interest Questionnaire to determine which topics teachers preferred to have covered in inservice training. General inservice training priorities remained constant over the 15-month period, but individual teachers' perceived needs showed considerable…

Reports on a survey of Texas professors of education that shows professors differing considerably from teachers and principals in their perceptions of teacher concerns. (Author/IRT)

Reports the results of a nationwide survey of the organization of school systems with 50,000 or more students. The study examined whether each system was centralized or decentralized and, if decentralized, the structure of the decentralization, the reasons the district is decentralized, and the extent of community participation. (IRT)