In the current educational climate, a great deal of emphasis is placed on measuring both teacher and school effectiveness. We employed a residual based approach to examine school effectiveness using school mean achievement data from one state. Rather than evaluating schools based on their mean achievement, we chose to predict achievement based on…

An urban Pre-K through 5th grade school referred to as Westvale Elementary School was the focal point for this research study. Westvale was located within an urban district in New York State that was host to approximately 20,000 students. Both the school and the district were labeled as failing under the No Child Left Behind Act. Foucauldian…

In the fall of 2005 the principal and teachers at Knickerbacker Middle School (KMS) were worried. KMS was a "School in Good Standing" but had not hit federal or state benchmarks because of low subgroup scores on the English Language Arts (ELA) test--especially scores received by economically disadvantaged students, about half of this…

The school accountability movement has led to a marked increase in the use of standardized test scores to measure school and teacher productivity, yet little is known about the correlation between test score gains and improvements in long-term outcomes. In the first chapter of my dissertation, I study the impact of a school choice policy in…

The "Closing the Achievement Gap" series explores the Casey Foundation's education investments and presents stories, results, and lessons learned. This publication describes efforts to develop a flexible but rigorous results measurements system that enables the Foundation and its grantees to reflect on practice and course-correct as…

This multimethod study investigates the attitudes teachers in urban and low-income schools have about teaching early elementary students. The authors examine the contextual characteristics of elementary schools where such teachers are willing to take responsibility for children's learning. The quantitative analyses focus on a subsample of students…

Brazil's Sao Paulo Metropolitan Region is conducting a performance evaluation pilot study at three schools serving disadvantaged populations. The objective is first to test methods which can facilitate Post Occupancy Evaluations (POEs) and then to carry out the evaluations. The preliminary results are provided below.

Technical problems with norm-referenced achievement testing that can lead to the erroneous evaluation of schools for Chapter 1 Program improvement is discussed, and an alternative testing model is presented. The history of Chapter 1 testing and evaluation policies is briefly reviewed, and problems with the norm-referenced model are explored. Data…

This paper describes an attempt to deal with the issue of dissatisfaction in the traditional approach to doing research and evaluation at the Ford Training and Placement Program for professional personnel in the inner-city schools of a large metropolitan area. The paper discusses a) the kinds of questions that need to be examined in this program,…

This study examines how teachers evaluate student performance in five inner-city high schools that serve disadvantaged student populations. The study is based on in-depth interviews with 78 teachers. Each teacher responded to a series of questions about the practices employed to assess the academic performance of their students. Analyses of…

A schema for the evaluation of ESEA Title I and III programs is based upon the view that evaluation should be considered as a process for program development and stabilization. Following a general systems approach and applying management theory, the model includes methods for using evaluation as a program improvement tool, with educational…

Suggests that a useful way of viewing schools is that of the systems approach of looking at organizations. System analysis attempts to measure what resources are fed into a school, what happens to students while enrolled, and what educational benefit students receive from their stay in school. (Author/AM)

Examined the implementation of the Success for All early intervention program in Montreal (Quebec, Canada) at four urban elementary schools with 128 high-risk students compared to 136 control participants. Program implementation resulted in higher reading achievement for the at-risk students. (SLD)

In 1995 the Rowland Unified School District (California) developed a new mission statement defining core values for the district's preparation for the 21st century. The district then set about implementing a new accountability system with existing measures to establish baseline data for measuring progress toward the new goals. The focus in this…

In March 1995 the Ohio General Assembly enacted a Pilot Project Scholarship Program intended to provide a limited number of vouchers to allow Cleveland public school students to attend alternative schools, i.e. private schools, including those operated by religious organizations, within the Cleveland city limits and public schools in surrounding…