Higher standards in public schools have made it necessary for educational reformers to identify at-risk students and to develop effective programs for preventing their failure. This pamphlet begins by delineating the characteristics of at-risk students and discussing evaluation instruments that are useful for identifying such students. Successful…

This critical analysis of the reforms in education identifies the political motives behind many of the reforms and argues that top-down mandates for reform will fail. Data are taken from a survey of schools and districts with reputations for excellence. Excellence is defined pragmatically by describing what these schools do, and how educators in…

This final report is part of a national assessment on the Chapter 1 Compensatory education program. The assessment, which began in 1984, includes national data through 1987. The topics covered in the report are the following: (1) program framework; (2) findings and implications of the national assessment; (3) distribution, character, and selection…

This document presents five scenarios, each referring to a means of assessing learning. These examples are then used to discuss pitfalls faced when tests are used to assess learning, and the conclusion is reached that testing should play a supportive role only, not a major role in the quest for excellence. Effective schools research shows that…

Several years ago, a coalition of Chicago civic groups met to determine the scope of the urban dropout problem and develop strategies for dealing with it. The resulting research program rejected both attrition and survey analysis approaches in favor of direct examination of all student records for three graduating classes (1982, 1983, and 1984)…

Descriptive findings concerning organization and management practices in 16 urban high schools across the United States are reported in this paper. The findings are based on data from the as yet incomplete 3-year District/Secondary School Study. This research effort involved urban comprehensive high schools without special admissions requirements…

A study was conducted to explore the stability of the selected indicators of merit in relation to the explicit purposes of identifying merit schools in the Cincinnati (Ohio) Public School system Design for School Excellence Program. A school could achieve merit either based on high status in achievement, attendance, and attitude, or on gain scores…

School improvements have been implemented in 27 schools in Columbus, Ohio, emphasizing the characteristics of effective schools. These characteristics include: (1) a sense of mission; (2) strong instructional leadership; (3) high expectations for students as well as school staff; (4) frequent monitoring of student progress; (5) a positive learning…

This volume provides a comprehensive synthesis of competencies that research has associated with the administration of effective schools. Following an introduction, section 1, "Re-thinking the Organizational Structure of Schools," presents current thinking on the organizational structure in which school administrators function.…

A survey of state education agencies (SEA's) in Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, supported by a random sampling of SEA's elsewhere in the nation, revealed several aspects of education in which the publics of all the surveyed states expressed low confidence. This document identifies eight of these issues, indicating the…

The inabilitiy of the traditional education system to pay attention to the individual needs of students has been a central obstacle to effective education since the demand for universal education first led to the formation of rigidly-structured, large schools and classrooms. Use of computers now removes the need to teach all students the same…

This book takes a broad look at the school today and offers a long term approach to the problem of school improvement by dividing the improvement process into three stages: refinement, renovation, and redesign. The book is divided into five major parts: (1) "Setting the Stage"; (2) "Establishing the Process"; (3) "Stage One: Refining the School";…

This paper contends that leadership at the state level can best improve schools through a leadership style that leads by example, by force of ideas, and by a devotion to fairness and justice. Responsibilities of state leaders include (1) reading and understanding the effective schools literature; (2) introducing school administrators to the…

Arguments for lengthening the school day and/or school year are predicated on the notion that more time devoted to learning will yield proportionally higher achievement scores. Research reveals, however, that the correlation between time and achievement is far slighter than expected. The quality of instructional time is more important than…

Research studies have found a number of teacher-related variables that are associated with student achievement. Professional development activities designed to improve the knowledge and skill of teachers can help students improve academically. In investigating the motivation for professional development, the findings of several researchers support…