Profiles of 100 top executive educators selected for their excellence in administering their schools by an independent panel of jurors. (MLF)

Recent studies by the University of Texas Research and Development Center for Teacher Education, based on visits to 22 high schools across the nation, suggest that high schools are better than they are usually portrayed as being. If current efforts to improve them are to succeed, however, clearer change strategies are needed. (JBM)

Knowledge and values for good citizenship are communicated through explicit subject-area curriculum, such as social studies, health, and language arts, and through the implicit models and practices embedded in a school's system of human rights protections and discipline practices. This paper presents the conceptual framework, and a few very early…

The educational effectiveness of community colleges is under new scrutiny as a result of both a federal government focus on accountability of higher education institutions and greater competition for the state funds traditionally directed to the colleges. Policymakers, who want to tie public college allocations to their outcomes, and families,…

This study was undertaken to identify the common characteristics of high-performing schools in Tennessee, to determine if these features were consistent with what other studies of high-performing schools have reported, and to consider whether any of the identified components had any potential for being employed to improve student achievement in…

Comprehensive school reform involves changes in every aspect of school operations, from classroom instruction to school governance. Some schools develop their own reform approach from within. Others seek assistance from without, particularly from organizations that have developed coherent, research-based approaches, or school-reform models. For…

Several previous studies have relied on religious affiliation and proximity to Catholic schools as exogenous sources of variation for identifying the effect of Catholic schooling on a wide variety of outcomes. Using three separate approaches, this study examined the validity of these instrumental variables. Evidence was obtained on the validity of…

This report reviews literature and presents evidence and findings from empirical studies and syntheses that encompass a wide range of contexts and topics relating to school effectiveness. The body of the report is arranged in seven sections. The introduction discusses the need for effective schools, and the concepts of effectiveness, efficiency,…

The perception exists that the massive infusion of resources into public education has done nothing to bolster student achievement scores and that American students' scores on international assessments rank far below the scores of students from other countries. These perceptions are examined in this booklet. The focus is on education productivity…

Seven schools each in five Florida school districts were examined after they had received a rating of F by the state's accountability plan. The ratings are based on Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test levels for reading, math, and writing as well as attendance-related data. Using criteria developed by the U.S. Department of Education's…

Oakland Unified School District may embody the failures of public education, which makes it worth examining for causes of failure and for potential reforms. This district has the second highest parental dissatisfaction in the nation, with two-thirds of graduates not able to meet minimum eligibility requirements of the state's colleges. It is also…

This case study on the experience of the University of Peking, China, in inter-university cooperation describes the process of identifying appropriate partner institutions and implementing collaborative programs with them. It also highlights a number of lessons for those managing inter-university cooperation and shows how such initiatives can be…

This paper provides an overview of Ontario's colleges of applied arts and technology as leaders in applied learning, accessibility, training, quality and innovation, affordability and accountability. Highlights of the diversity of college activities and innovations are included but do not reflect a comprehensive picture of colleges' initiatives.…

During the 1997-98 school year, the Sentry Hill School District made the decision to "redesign" Clayton Elementary School after persistently low student achievement placed the district in the lowest category of the district's accountability system. This case study outlines the changes made at the school. Redesigning the school meant removing all…

Discipline is a necessary ingredient for any successful school. Every teacher and school has a particular style and technique of discipline. This paper examines effective discipline strategies that help maintain school discipline. Classroom management, in school and out of school suspensions, alternative schooling, corporal punishment, and…