This series of four essays is designed to share practical, workable strategies for quality rural education. The first essay, Ernest Lohman's "It's About Time...," gives an overview of the effective schooling concept and then looks specifically at ways a classrooom teacher can apply that concept. The essay includes a bibliography. The…

This paper presents the results of an Achievement Directed Leadership (ADL) field test conducted at eight elementary schools and a middle school in an urban school district in New Jersey during the 1981-82 school year. The stated purpose of the field test was only secondarily to assess student outcomes; its major objective was to help principals…

An overview is provided of the issues involved in the development of programs to assess institutional effectiveness, particularly as they relate to California community colleges. After part I reviews the trends that have made institutional accountability a legislative concern nationwide, parts II and III consider various definitions of…

This publication is a series of role guides written by appropriate role group representatives that address the issues of effective schooling from the perspectives of six different role groups. The publication outlines how the following six key role groups might contribute to schools that are striving to become academically effective for all…

This paper presents the State of New Jersey Board of Education's evaluation of the Operation School Renewal (OSR) Program, a multi-year assistance program involving the urban school districts of Trenton, East Orange, and Neptune Township (New Jersey). Goals included the following: (1) attendance improvement; (2) reduction of disruptive pupil…

This report from the Coan Middle School in Atlanta (Georgia) provides information on student achievement for the 1986-87 school year. The narrative presents seven findings concerning attendance, reading achievement, and math achievement. Conclusions and recommendations generated from these findings are the following: (1) all achievement test…

School effectiveness indices (SEIs) based on residuals from regressing test performance in reading and mathematics onto prior-year test performance and a socioeconomic status measure (percentage eligible for a subsidized lunch program) were obtained for two consecutive years for 431 South Carolina elementary schools. The analysis involved school…

Rasch methodology facilitates effective achievement comparisons to meet evaluation needs at the district, school, classroom, and individual levels. The five-year District Gains Graph developed by the Portland (Oregon) Public Schools charts fall-to-spring achievement gains in basic skills for Grades 3-8, as measured by the Portland Achievement…

The number of dropouts is increasing and is particularly high in urban areas and among minority students. Dropouts earn less over their lifetimes, are in poorer health, and do not have the technological skills needed for newly-developing jobs. The federal government, the private sector, and educators have made serious commitments to bring down the…

Fifty-four inner city Catholic and other private elementary schools, whose student population is at least 70 percent minority, were studied to determine their educational impact, to describe pupils' family backgrounds, and to identify factors that influence academic achievement and school effectiveness. The study found that: (1) clientele of these…

The major presentations given at a seminar on the current state of Catholic secondary education are recorded in this publication. The intent of the seminar was to establish a foundation on which to base consideration of Catholic secondary education's future. Among the issues explored in the seminar's eight major addresses were teacher and…

The new Banneker High School Program was established in 1981 to provide a college preparatory program combining rigorous academic study with related community experiences for District of Columbia students. Evaluation of the program in 1981-82 was based on school records, interviews with school personnel, and questionnaire responses of Banneker's…

Four general types of literature related to school effectiveness are reviewed in this paper and the more consistent research findings synthesized. The literature types considered are case studies (descriptions of effective schools), comparative studies (comparisons of effective and ineffective schools), program evaluations (examinations of…

The Tennessee Technological University Rural Education Research and Service Consortium (RERSC) was established in 1984 to facilitate research and service activities of the College of Education faculty in selected rural schools, to provide assistance to faculty desiring to engage in such research and service, and to launch a major research thrust…

Ten algorithms for measuring school effectiveness were identified through literature analysis and interviews of the directors of 39 school improvement projects. The algorithms are described thus: (1) a major proportion of students achieve at or above average national levels; (2) an equal percentage of highest and lowest social classes achieve…