High performing schools for young adolescents are developmentally responsive, academically excellent, and socially equitable. Necessary reform elements include professional development, technical assistance, coordination, networks, data-driven decision making, enlightened leadership, improved teacher preparation, a well-informed public, and…

Reviews: "The Schools We Need and Why We Don't Have Them"; "Charter Schools: Creating Hope and Opportunity for American Education"; "Horace's Hope: What Works for the American High School"; "United Mind Workers: Unions and Teaching in the Knowledge Society"; "Digital Literacy"; "Reinventing Early Care and Education: A Vision for a Quality System";…

Literature review examines school effectiveness research in developing countries, focusing on why Third World research has not used analytic techniques applied in industrialized countries, how school effectiveness and school improvement approaches differ, which indicators are used, use of multilevel analysis in Third World research, and how to…

British government policies promoting public-private partnerships enabled the privatization of failing schools. In the U.S., the private sector has drawn upon a political network of well-financed institutions to advance privatized education, most recently among charter schools. Privatization has not yet been very successful, but promises to be…

A Wyoming alternative high school successfully graduates at-risk students because of its student-centered environment. Flexibility in the timelines to earn credits, a cross-disciplinary curriculum, community partnerships, and meaningful career enterprises offer the "person-environment fit" needed by students at risk. Student counseling…

Discusses the characteristics of a college prep program in which Hispanic high school students are motivated to succeed in school. Explores specific teacher strategies that effectively motivate students. The following themes are discussed: (1) creating a vision of the future; (2) redefining image of self; and (3) building a supportive community.…

Studies the reasons for student dropout from an urban basic-education program for paraprofessional health care workers by examining the perceptions of 153 completers, noncompleters, leavers, and nonattenders. Groups differed in terms of their previous college experience, attainment of education goals, judgment of instructional level, and…

Highlights case studies of three elementary schools in the Kansas City (Missouri) System of Choice program that resulted from a court order to erase all vestiges of segregation in the Kansas City school district. The possible effects of these choices of school programs on educational equity are summarized. (GR)

Data from 31 middle school teachers were categorized through the use of qualitative research to determine what teachers perceive to be the advantages and disadvantages of ability grouping as well as alternative grouping practices. Found that most teachers were knowledgeable about ability grouping through experience or professional development;…

This model, designed for higher education professionals, explores the development and effects of programs, services, curricula, and environmental interventions on student development. Offers practical suggestions for program implementation by outlining a 10-step process, and discusses political considerations for new evaluation programs. (RJM)

Describes how six colleges and universities, known for their assessment programs, use student outcomes assessment to improve programs. Each school preferred to use nationally normed tests and inventories supplemented with locally developed instruments. Outcomes assessment help schools to meaningfully reconsider their educational values and…

Focuses on the legal framework that New Jersey has established that allows the state to assume responsibility for operating a school district that has been deemed unable or unwilling to meet minimum educational standards. Identifies some perceived deficiencies in the law and suggests some possible future directions. (71 footnotes) (MLF)

Reviews research on students' concepts and theories of fair and effective educational practices. Asserts that students are insightful critics of schooling and hold different theories about how schools should be defined. Maintains that moral education programs could encourage students and teachers to negotiate fair classroom practices. (CFR)

Describes a plan that identifies the extent of academic and related service needs of students. Using data on students from 50 elementary schools in Minneapolis (Minnesota), the authors show how their analytical technique helped identify schools with poor performance and what actions needed to be taken to improve them or to sustain efforts where…

Discusses the characteristics of transformational leadership and its impact on the organizational culture and effectiveness of schools. Outlines its role in school culture, bureaucratic mechanisms, staff development, communication, responsibility, and power and recognition, asserting that vision of the future and empowerment of others are crucial…