Surveys urban school principals about desirable alternative education programs for low-achieving students, and identifies schools and programs that have been effective in promoting educational excellence in this population. Explores the nature of effective schools, and examines the principal's role in establishing models for educating children in…

The increasing demand for public aid to private schooling raises the question of whether private schools really outperform public schools. National Assessment of Educational Progress mathematics scores demonstrate that they do not. Other data substantiating this assertion highlight poor outcomes for both public and private education. (SLD)

Presents a discussion by journalists, scientists, and writers on educational problems in the Soviet Union. Focuses on the the role of the pedagogical press in restructuring public education in light of perestroika. Calls for press involvement in defining and developing public education. Lists questions for consideration and invites responses. (NL)

Teacher unionization, centralization of financial control, desegregation, and weakening in business involvement are among the political factors that have contributed to the decline in public school performance between 1965 and 1980. Research into these factors confirms the importance of political influences on schooling and suggests that…

Employing standardized achievement tests to ascertain educational quality is like measuring temperature with a tablespoon. Such tests are prone to testing-teaching mismatches, omitted items, and confounded causation problems. Actually, three factors influence students' scores: what's taught in school, native intellectual ability, and out-of-school…

The public continues to oppose allowing students and parents to choose a private school to attend at public expense, but favors government-paid tuition for students choosing to attend any public, private, or religious school. The public assigns local schools passing grades, likes schools' size, favors school prayer, and wants innercity schools to…

There can be little doubt that there is wide variation in the rigor and quality of state standards and assessments. Moreover, it is clear that the vast majority of states have set their academic achievement bar far lower than federal standards, as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Since No Child Left Behind (NCLB)…

The impact of schools on student achievement has been of great interest in school effects research the last four decades. This study examines trends of school effects on student achievement, employing three national probability samples of high school seniors: NLS:72, HSB:82, and NELS:92. Hierarchical linear models are used to investigate school…

This report provides data on withdrawal and success rates and grades earned in fall 1994 at the five campuses of Pima Community College (PCC), in Arizona. Following a literature review on national course grades, descriptions are provided of the following: (1) grades and withdrawals for fall 1979, 1984, 1989, and 1994, indicating that the number of…

The current perception of faculty tenure as a guarantee of a job for life can impede the removal of teachers who do not perform up to standards. Such faculty, however, can have an extremely negative effect on overall college quality, and studies have shown that community college faculty do support post-tenure evaluation if it is responsibly…

Drawing from both state and institutional data sources, this report provides personnel at Anne Arundel Community College (AACC) with an in-depth analysis of assessment issues, offering both quantitative and qualitative information on assessment and student outcomes. Section 1 provides data on student transfer goal achievement, indicating that…

Rapid and escalating changes in labor market and post-secondary educational opportunities challenge adolescents to meet their personal and career needs. A recent study found that young people left high school unprepared for current career realities and that both the career and personal areas of the lives were in a state of change and uncertainty.…

Based on the author's experience working with the French minority in the Yukon, this study investigated the contributions of the school and of the family to the success at Ecole Emilie-Tremblay, a school of children from exogamous families (those with parents from different language groups). Three areas of parental involvement were…

Previous studies, while not suggesting that all preschool programs will bring lasting benefits, demonstrate that early education can change the course of children's lives, especially children from disadvantaged backgrounds. This study dealt with early childhood education and school success, evaluating the effect of preschool attendance on reading…

A study of West Virginia elementary schools examined why similar types of elementary students differ greatly in academic achievement. In the first phase of the study, a comparison of 33 high- and 33 low-achieving elementary schools in West Virginia found that low-achieving schools had 2.5 times more low-income students than high-achieving schools,…