In considering the problem of measuring achievement for the evaluation of school effectiveness, there are at least three questions that need to be answered: (1) What is to be measured? (2) How is it to be measured? (3) How are the results to be analyzed? Following a discussion related to the first two questions--determining content objectives and…

Organizational climate was examined at nine, four-year public colleges, using data from 2,397 respondents. All were multi-purpose colleges ranging in size from 2,000 to 11,000 students. Data were obtained from the Higher Education Management Institutes' (HEMI) data bank. The HEMI questionnaire section on organizational climate, which is appended,…

The widely accepted notion that the management of resources in schools involves merely strategic decisions about the deployment of finances, staff, and materials must be contested. The school effectiveness movement ignores the social and political context of schools and, through emphasis upon superficial managerial matters, teaches pupils to…

This statement addresses the basic practices of student development professionals that help community colleges assure success on the part of their students in an effort to reaffirm and update the standards of practice that undergird the profession. Introductory material discusses the rationale, philosophy, and purpose of the statement; explains…

The report presents results of a computer summary of Sacramento City Unified School District data on high school level dropouts for the four school years from 1980 to 1984. The district dropout rate fluctuated mildly from 1980-83; from 1982-83 to 1983-84, however, there was a drastic decline in the dropout rates. Each regular high school showed a…

This paper addresses the long-term impact of a school improvement effort of the Milwaukee public schools known as Project RISE (Rising to Individual Scholastic Excellence). Each school replicated the following characteristics of effective schools: (1) strong leadership by the principal; (2) high expectations conveyed by the entire staff; (3)…

When school psychologists adopt an organization development perspective they are acting on a cluster of related concepts: (1) that because schools are social organizations, school effectiveness depends on the school's organizational culture; (2) that attempts to institute educational reforms only work when the reforms and the school culture mesh;…

This paper addresses a decline in educational standards and discusses the role of curriculum. After defining the problem, it presents the evidence, pointing to the following factors: (1) decreasing student achievement after the fourth or fifth grade; (2) a curriculum that reflects and perpetuates this decline, e.g., by setting course requirements…

A 1984 study of the Seattle Public Schools evaluates the relationship between curriculum practices and academic achievement. The study focused on mathematics curriculum and gathered data through survey questionnaires of elementary, middle, and high school level teachers. Three instruments were used: a school assessment questionnaire, a mathematics…

Comparative data from three middle schools, all in one large urban school district in the Pacific Northwest, are used to identify criteria for evaluating student discipline policies and to generate theoretical statements of how school administration affects student behavior. An introduction summarizes the study's goals and assumptions and…

Using nationally representative data generated by the normal, day-to-day operation of schools, this research tested the major conclusions drawn from case studies focusing on principal effectiveness. On the basis of detailed information regarding individual student characteristics and achievements, detailed characteristics of teachers and their…

The Illinois Quality School Index (IQSI) is a school survey designed to assist local school personnel in planning for more effective schools. The IQSI provides a structure to determine the existing quality and the expected quality of the school as viewed by administration, staff, parents, and community. This manual is a detailed guide for using…

Four critical time periods offer a sense of where the Effective Schools Movement has been, and where it appears to be headed. The period of 1966 to 1976 marked the beginning of descriptive studies of individual effective schools. During the period of 1976 to 1980 a new coalition was formed between many of the Effective Schools researchers and…

As part of an internal marketing effort, a study was conducted at Howard Community College (HCC) to determine employees' evaluation of key educational services provided by the college. All full-time faculty, administrators, and support staff were asked to evaluate 13 areas of service on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) and to identify HCC's…

Sensitivity to context variables marks the third phase of effective schools research (ESR). The first phase was one of explicit concern for equity, challenging the works of Coleman and Jencks which suggested that achievement differences were more associated with family background than school variables. This research focused on low socioeconomic…