Employer attitudes toward youth, the youth labor market, and prospects for a national system of youth apprenticeships were studied through a survey of firms that had participated in local youth apprenticeship or cooperative education programs in seven U.S. cities and focus group discussions with small and large employers in eight U.S. communities.…

This paper presents an ethnographic study of the Oyster Bilingual School in Washington, D.C., a successful two-way Spanish-English bilingual elementary school designed to produce biliterate and bicultural students. The study was based on classroom observations, interviews of students, teachers, and administrators, and an examination of school…

An accountability model for the California community colleges must be based on an extensive discussion of precisely who is being held accountable, to whom are they responsible, what are they responsible for, and how will such responsibility be enforced. In developing its model, the Assembly Bill 1725 Accountability Task Force of the California…

The main trends in urban education, particularly in England and the United Kingdom, are reviewed and analysed, along with descriptions of a series of projects and interventions. In particular, the paper: reviews the relevant research evidence about the current state of urban education; considers the scope for change; reports on worthwhile…

This monograph examines effective schooling for language minority students through a review of current practices, an analysis of current thinking on related issues, and a look at actual exemplary schools and programs. The first section briefly reviews effective schools research as an introduction to the text. The second section looks in detail at…

Recognizing the importance of leadership in effective school administration, this document begins by discussing leadership as defined by Etzioni (1975), including ideas such as personal influence; positional power; the difference between instrumental and expressive leadership; and organizational type as defined by the dominant means of control in…

Five years ago Los Angeles Unified School District administrators began efforts to ensure that teachers teach students what they are expected to learn and test them accordingly. The initial stage of this projected curriculum alignment was first of all to define the essential skills to be taught in the elementary grades and provide a list of these…

A model for improving school and classroom effectiveness must pay attention to: (1) leadership; (2) school climate; (3) supervision; (4) teacher behaviors; (5) student behaviors; and (6) student achievement. Chapter 1 of this book on effective schools and classrooms introduces these important issues and describes a model incorporating these…

This book examines the qualities of schools that successfully deal with the developmental diversity of young adolescents (10 to 14 years old). In part I, the author reviews literature on school effectiveness and develops a framework for evaluating schools that are not simply "effective," but are "successful." Seven criteria are outlined: (1)…

The papers in this collection reflect topics of major interest to members of the measurement and testing communities. Symposium 1, "Beyond the Wall Chart: Indicators and School Ranking," includes the following papers: (1) "What Our 17-Year-Olds Know: One District's Assessment" (L. D. Wilkinson and D. L. Galindo); (2)…

Several public school choice programs are reviewed, and the model program implemented by the Montclair (New Jersey) Public Schools is evaluated. School choice models include: the regulated voucher system, alternative schools, and magnet schools. The Montclair system is an urban school district that has achieved success in desegregating its schools…

Over the past decade, research by cognitive scientists has been building a clearer understanding of how people learn in school and out. A review of the various streams of cognitive research has implications for vocational education. Research has determined characteristics of effective workers and how people become effective workers. Some…

In response to the growing concern over the significant underrepresentation, underpreparation, and enrollment decline of minority students, the chancellor's office of the California Community Colleges prepared this report to identify community college instructional programs designed specifically for Blacks and Hispanics. Sections 1 through 3…

The two exploratory studies presented in this research report used multilevel data obtained in the 1983-84 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) to investigate the relationship between minimum competency testing (MCT) programs and student reading proficiency. A "school effects" paradigm was used in Study 1 to assess the effect…

This monograph focuses on the implementation process that has been a concern of school jurisdictions since the teacher evaluation policy became mandatory in Alberta, Canada, in 1985. Research has shown that school systems are adept at developing written policy but much less successful at putting that policy into effective operation. This overview…