The management team at Minooka (Illinois) School District 201 is actively pursuing school improvement measures by establishing Performance Contracts to increase productivity. The format of the Performance Contract highlights yearly short-term and long-term goals, which are presented in the form of Job Improvement Targets stating the goal itself, a…

This perspective on how testing and evaluation data are used and could be used for school improvement is based partly on the experience of the Austin (Texas) Public Schools and partly on their goals. Four conditions are necessary for the effective use of evaluation information: (1) real need; (2) trust in the evaluators and in the information…

In spring 1988, a survey was conducted of the employers of graduates of Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) to evaluate the occupational success of PVCC graduates and to determine how well academic programs prepare students for the work in various professions. On the graduate follow-up survey of the class of 1985-86, 85 graduates or 49.4%…

The Onward to Excellence (OTE) process has the goal of improving student performance through training and technical assistance at the school level. A 10-step improvement process incorporates six key concepts derived from an extensive review and synthesis of research studies on effective schools. OTE training for local school personnel is intended…

This paper contests a 1985 report by the Illinois State Board of Education, which asserted that small schools are inferior and inefficient, that student achievement is significantly related to school size, and that a high school enrollment of 500-1200 students is necessary for a broad choice of academic courses and extracurricular activities. It…

This directory is a compendium of 108 outstanding Education Consolidation Improvement Act Chapter 1 compensatory education projects selected for recognition by the United States Department of Education in 1987. It is the fourth volume in the "Effective Compensatory Education Sourcebook" series. Volume 1 consists of a review of the…

The school improvement movement during the past decade has, among other things, provided educators with realistic data on how effective schools got that way. One of the most basic findings is that successful schools have five common characteristics: principals who provide strong administrative and instructional leadership; high expectations,…

State colleges and universities (SUs) are being forced by critics of higher education to reassess themselves and redirect their efforts. There is a movement to discover a simplistic and valid means of measuring excellence in higher education. Measuring student outcomes cuts through all the difficulties created by more standard attempts to find a…

A study was conducted by the California Association of Community Colleges (CACC) to determine the perceptions of several constituency groups concerning the relative success of California's community colleges. The study sought to identify indicators of institutional success and appropriate measures for each indicator. Surveys conducted at the 1987…

Forty-five magnet schools in fifteen urban school districts were studied to find if magnet schools increase community participation in public education, what factors lead to increased community participation, and if there is a relationship between community participation and magnet school effectiveness. Major findings were the following: (1)…

A North Carolina project identified the elements influencing an institution's responsiveness to industry and developed a model to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of that response. Data were collected through structured interviews at each of 15 top-rated colleges and with representatives of two industries with whom the college had worked.…

Intended to assist district and school curriculum developers, this report offers clarification of the relationships among 12 state goals of education using information obtained through a survey of Department of Education staff and representatives of professional associations. Defined as the goals of education are the areas of communication skills,…

Effective teaching was the focus of a great deal of research during the 1970s. Many relationships between how teachers teach and what students learn were identified. Findings emerged from studies using a wide variety of methodologies. Thus far, findings from the research on teaching have been used primarily to improve the instruction of inservice…

This handbook, structured to facilitate use by policy makers, practitioners, school board members and school staff, contains three parts. Part I presents practical information and an action plan for implementing school improvement and delinquency prevention measures. Chapters 1 and 2 focus on how delinquency affects the U.S. educational system,…

This paper reviews principal effectiveness research and suggests measures that might promote effective principalship. The first section discusses principals' behavior patterns and conditions bearing on their effectiveness. Topics examined include role ambiguity, goal setting behavior, leadership and initiative, management behaviors, instructional…