Diverse low-cost, innovative, and successful state initiatives for school improvement have been developed over the last five years. Generated by public pressures for accountability, many states' increased capacity for policy analysis, and insights gained during 15 years of administering categorical grant programs, the initiatives include: programs…

The article aims at exploring what counts as successful leadership and what the key questions in exploring successful school leadership across countries should be. A main argument is that successful leadership is a contestable concept, and I argue for framing school leadership as a moral and democratic enterprise, which implies a need to protect…

This book is an attempt to define the knowledge that beginning teachers should possess and addresses the difference between the "state of the art" and the "state of practice." It begins with three chapters that deal explicitly with general knowledge about teaching. Pedagogy is treated in chapters 4 through 8. These chapters deal with foundational…

This study describes four middle schools which educate poor and minority students more effectively than most middle schools in the New York City public school system. These schools were studied in order to define the characteristics associated with academic effectiveness. Chapter 1 provides the demographics and the test score results for each…

In 1988, a survey was conducted of member institutions of the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges (AACJC). The survey was designed to study and advance the use of student outcomes measures for assessing institutional ffectiveness in two-year institutions. Three sets of student outcomes were identified for in-depth study: academic…

A national study of effective schools programs provides information on the extent and characteristics of these programs in the nation's school districts and schools. A questionnaire was mailed to a random sample of 1,685 school district superintendents. Findings are representative of the approximately 16,000 local school districts in the nation.…

This directory includes information about schools that are working to improve student performance through the school-based management process "Onward to Excellence." Nearly 500 schools were sent an extensive questionnaire asking for detailed information about activities using "Onward to Excellence" and about results of that…

This study gathered information and perceptions regarding the School Development Program's (SDP) history, structure and procedures within the Benton Harbor Area School District (Michigan). The study sample included 46 people. SDP was created to be part of a comprehensive desegregation/educational improvement program for the district. Using a field…

The United States is in the midst of a school reform movement of unprecedented dimensions, and many educators have felt a need to focus not just on the process but on the purpose of the educational enterprise--the purpose which the reforms are intended to accomplish. A conference, attended by more than 1,100 educators and other interested people,…

The Florida Merit Schools Program is described and evaluated in this report. Program goals were to increase student academic performance and to provide economic incentives to school staffs. Research phases involved: document analysis of school district plans submitted to the state Department of Education; interviews with school personnel from five…

In an effort to develop a process for measuring institutional effectiveness, the National Alliance of Community and Technical Colleges and the Center on Education and Training for Employment sent a questionnaire to the 46 member institutions of the Alliance asking them to define institutional effectiveness and to list factors for measuring it. A…

A multilevel approach was used to examine determinants of growth in grade 8 mathematics achievement in Thailand. Data for 99 mathematics teachers and their 4,030 eighth graders (the 14-year-old cohort) were taken from the Second International Mathematics Study (1981-82) of the International Association for the Assessment of Educational…

Suggestions from the National Distinguished Principals of 1989 are presented in this newsletter. This issue includes a description of techniques related to staff involvement and morale, school safety, public relations, time management, student interest, and vandalism. (LMI)

Interschool visitation as a method of improving teacher morale and instructional effectiveness is discussed in this publication for school principals. The principals's role is crucial, and several steps that he/she should consider when planning and implementing a visitation are suggested; they include determining the need, choosing participants,…

This report describes a research effort and some preliminary findings on effective school practices as they apply to the Portland (Oregon) Public Schools' Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) Chapter 1 program, which is a supplementary basic skills instructional program for low-achieving students. Nearly 60 hours of unsystematic…