"School Choice: The Findings" is the most comprehensive and up-?to-?date survey available, summarizing the research on charter schools, vouchers, and public versus private school effectiveness, from one of the country's most distinguished education scholars. The focus is on rigorous studies--those using randomized control groups (as in…

Examines employment possibilities and upper-secondary schools via the situation in Milan (i.e., occupational demand, secondary schools' efficiency, 'short cycle' and 'long cycle,' reentry, work experience, and rigidity of schools). (AH)

Presents a New York City high school principal's account of how she, with staff and student support, was able to improve the school environment, increase student achievement, and change the total image of a school which had been considered the most problematic in the borough of Queens. (Author/MJL)

Urban schools' test scores are improving, including those for poor and minority children, particularly because of effective school techniques and minimum competency standards. However, urban elementary, not secondary, schools account for most of the improvement, and many educators feel that emphasizing test scores teaches only limited skills, not…

Linking his observations with existing research on teacher and school effectiveness, the author identifies four leadership functions directly related and two functions indirectly related to the achievement of instructional effectiveness. Questions to ask to identify effective principals are provided for each of the six leadership functions.…

Lists 45 criteria for assessing a school's multiethnic education program. (JM)

Summarizes the legal status, implementation status, and controversies concerning charter schools, contracts between private educational organizations and public schools, and publicly funded vouchers. Few empirical data are available to make sound judgments regarding the efficacy of any of these reforms, and all face formidable challenges in…

New Norway, a small rural Alberta school, has few dropouts, and half its graduates enter postsecondary education. Case study in Canada's Exemplary Schools Project outlines elements of school culture contributing to success: close community connections; principal's role; individual support for students; focus on independent study skills and task…

Recommendations favoring generic academic rather than occupationally specific skills are based on false premises. Research evidence contradicts the following assertions: (1) academic skills are good substitutes for occupational skills; (2) skill obsolescence reduces the payoff to vocational training; and (3) rising job turnover reduces the payoff…

The No Child Left Behind Act, rather than preparing all students for the future, reverts to the outmoded practices of the industrial age--a narrow curriculum and the sorting of students through standardized testing. (Author/MLF)

Evaluates German schools (n=402) that provide general education. Documents different ways of knowledge transfer in these schools. Examines the impact of different influence factors on the use of these transfer examples. Discusses the model of active use of knowledge and the transfer of knowledge throughout the school system. (CAJ)

Discusses the organization and operation of multi-age classrooms in an elementary school in Nevada. Describes how teachers working with primary classrooms of first and second graders, and intermediate classrooms of third, fourth, and fifth graders, created an adaptive, flexible, and dynamic curriculum that could serve the needs of their…

A Scottish national study examined relationships between pupil background characteristics and performance in reading and mathematics at 80 primary and secondary schools. Age within the grade level, gender, and socioeconomic disadvantage had varying effects on achievement in different grades. School-level variations were more marked for primary…

An Anchorage (Alaska) elementary school serving low-income minority groups revitalized itself by starting a dual-language (Spanish/English) immersion program. Pull-out programs were coordinated using instructional and tutoring teams, quality professional development was provided, bilingualism was fostered for all students, and parent participation…

Explains the evolving transformation of school systems into engines of economic development, summarizes the conventional orientation of educational evaluation, assesses the impact of the human capital imperative on expectations for evaluation, and proposes a new model for national educational appraisal. (SK)