To assist in local school improvement, Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) has developed an approach in which teams of local educational leaders are made aware of the results of effective schooling research and are trained in the processes of change and improvement. Research reviews have shown specific elements of schooling at the…

The first section of this report presents an overview of the national response to the report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, "A Nation at Risk." Responses from the public are cited in the form of quotations from leading publications and results of polls. Responses from the education profession and its national…

Whether students learn more in private schools is a point of controversy among researchers, though the argument for tuition tax credits for parents of private school students often rests on it. In different studies comparing private and public schools, the main area of disagreement is the extent to which nonschool factors affect achievement. The…

School climate is defined, four instruments used to assess various dimensions of school climate are described, and implications of a school climate profile for developing an individualized staff development program in a rural school setting are discussed. Developed from the professional literature, the definition of school climate includes the…

This paper reports on an inquiry into discipline and effective schools, as perceived by administrators and teachers in a large, midwestern school district. A discussion of the historical foundations in school law, the societal milieu for the study, and educational research into discipline and school effectiveness is followed by a summary of the…

Empirical norms are a traditional and accepted tool for reporting performance. Other methods (e.g., statistical regression) are used more often in a research context to make conditional statements about performance given a certain demographic context. This paper illustrates a method for the construction of differentiated school norms and the…

Designed to facilitate implementation of outcomes assessments at other colleges, this manual describes the activities and techniques developed by North Hennepin Community College in its Student Outcomes Pilot Project (SOPP) of 1988-89. Following introductory material, the manual describes the college's Research and Planning Office, and its survey…

Ninth grade results from the April 1989 administration of the New Jersey High School Proficiency Test (HSPT) are reported. Passing the HSPT, which consists of reading, writing, and mathematics sections, is a high school graduation requirement in New Jersey. In 1989, the HSPT was administered to 67,099 ninth, 6,352 10th, 3,018 11th, and 762 12th…

It is possible for at-risk students to perform at demanding academic levels, and their achievement can be improved dramatically in a relatively short time. Effective ways to teach at-risk children have already been identified; no new research is needed. This report covers the following specific issues related to educating high-risk students. It…

This study examined the differences between actual and predicted school achievement on a grade 5 standardized reading posttest. The primary objective was to identify which schools are performing above expectation on a posttest by examining multiple regression residuals and, concurrently, which school level variables are associated with that…

This paper presents, describes, and explains the results of Project SIGN (a school improvement groups network) collaboratively conducted by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the Camp Lejeune Dependents' Schools during the 1989-90 school year. The collegial, professional in-service program, designed to improve school effectiveness…

In response to Legislative Resolve 47 of the 1989 Alaska Legislature, the Alaska State Board of Education prepared this report on efforts to improve school performance and recommendations for legislative action. In the past year, the State Board met with educators, parents, Native leaders and organizations, nationally known experts, and…

The practices and perceptions of a shared planning team decision-making model and the effects on student achievement and attendance are examined in this study. Survey results, test scores, and background data on schools were utilized to analyze the relationships among the degree of shared decision-making and planning effectiveness ratings, student…

This document states the position of the National Association of Elementary School Principals regarding the essential ingredients of a fine elementary or middle school. It combines the findings of current research on effective schooling with the practical, onsite experience of working principals. After a brief introduction, these standards are…

Despite the fact that students over age 25 will soon comprise the majority in higher education, programming and resource allocation at many universities remain inadequate to meet adult needs. Institutions have also failed to invest in adult education research. At the same time, pressures for objective assessment of student learning in higher…