Comprehensive or nonselective schools have been in existence in the United Kingdom for over 40 years, having gradually replaced the old selective system of grammar schools for able pupils and secondary modern schools for less able pupils. In spite of their growth in numbers, comprehensive schools have been subject to continual controversy, and…

This study adds to the effective schools debate a criticism of existing criteria--based on standardized achievement test profiles--for targeting schools for intervention programs. Qualitative and quantitative methods of gathering data result in conflicting assessments of the magnet elementary school studied as needing or not needing intervention.…

This guide is designed primarily for administrators/teachers to provide: an introduction to the nature and purpose of school evaluation; an approach involving evaluation of issues determined by school staff; a set of procedures to carry out the evaluation; and guidance information and instruments for conducting an evaluation. Although the guide is…

This is a report of a meeting held: (1) to examine and discuss the results of the Junior High Transition Study in light of the work of other researchers; and (2) to develop a collective statement about what is and is not known about successful schooling at the junior high level and about problems on which future efforts should focus. The first…

An administrator who has been involved in the reorganizations of five school systems to create middle schools found that the reorganization improved delivery of educational services to K-12 students. A districtwide reorganization improves teacher morale by offering an opportunity for teachers to move to a different grade organization in their…

This document is a compilation of separate papers concerning the planned 1990 recompetition for the nine Regional Educational Laboratories, sponsored by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) of the U.S. Department of Education, as follows: (1) "Report of the Laboratory Review Panel on the 1987 Review of Laboratories"…

The oral testimony and prepared statements of educational researchers and practitioners comprise this record of a hearing on the proposed national research and development center for the effective education of disadvantaged youth. Committee members expressed concern about Department of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement…

Effective schools provide at-risk students with a community of support that encourages school membership and educational engagement. This study describes effective dropout prevention programs, develops a generalizable, theoretical framework for understanding the relationship between at-risk students and their schools, and suggests local and state…

A summary is provided of the content and outcomes of a workshop on institutional effectiveness conducted by five major California community college associations. Introductory comments by Robert D. Jensen and Julie Slark explain the reasons for the increased interest in educational quality, including the decreasing dollars in the public purse and…

The use of environmental scanning by three colleges at Northern Arizona University is discussed. The environment confronting each college is described, along with the process that was used to direct change to improve the efficient use of human and fiscal resources. The process involved: scanning the internal and external environments, establishing…

This book analyzes the ways in which majority and minority interests interact in the educational system. It begins with an examination of the excellence movement in American education, and then discusses an alternative approach through which, by emphasizing adequacy rather than insisting on excellence as an institutional requirement, minority…

This practical self-help guide approaches the topic of student discipline from the practitioner's perspective. Chapter 1 prescribes a teamwork approach to schoolwide and classroom discipline, involving a schoolwide commitment to mutual respect among students and staff and positive classroom management by teachers. Chapter 2 offers, as practical…

This monograph reviews research and educational reports to examine the state of the art in preservice and inservice teacher education in the urban community in the United States. A review of urban areas in the last thirty years reveals major social and environmental changes, such as population increases, shifts in racial composition, the…

This document is a compendium of proceedings from three state conferences held in Salt Lake City (September 13-14, 1983), San Francisco (November 16-18, 1983), and Reno (February 2-3, 1984). These conferences brought together outstanding researchers to share their findings and perspectives with other educators of the region. The proceedings are…

This module discusses the theory and practice of school improvement and outlines a nine-step systematic problem-solving process for developing an action plan addressing school improvement goals. The first section describes a general model for the study of the school as a social system, as developed by Getzels and Thelen (1960). The second section…