Seven schools each in five Florida school districts were examined after they had received a rating of F by the state's accountability plan. The ratings are based on Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test levels for reading, math, and writing as well as attendance-related data. Using criteria developed by the U.S. Department of Education's…

Oakland Unified School District may embody the failures of public education, which makes it worth examining for causes of failure and for potential reforms. This district has the second highest parental dissatisfaction in the nation, with two-thirds of graduates not able to meet minimum eligibility requirements of the state's colleges. It is also…

This case study on the experience of the University of Peking, China, in inter-university cooperation describes the process of identifying appropriate partner institutions and implementing collaborative programs with them. It also highlights a number of lessons for those managing inter-university cooperation and shows how such initiatives can be…

This paper provides an overview of Ontario's colleges of applied arts and technology as leaders in applied learning, accessibility, training, quality and innovation, affordability and accountability. Highlights of the diversity of college activities and innovations are included but do not reflect a comprehensive picture of colleges' initiatives.…

During the 1997-98 school year, the Sentry Hill School District made the decision to "redesign" Clayton Elementary School after persistently low student achievement placed the district in the lowest category of the district's accountability system. This case study outlines the changes made at the school. Redesigning the school meant removing all…

Discipline is a necessary ingredient for any successful school. Every teacher and school has a particular style and technique of discipline. This paper examines effective discipline strategies that help maintain school discipline. Classroom management, in school and out of school suspensions, alternative schooling, corporal punishment, and…

Both built and natural environments embellish student learning; however, it is believed that there are far too many functional and structural design problems in schools. This document provides basic design factors from three perspectives: environmental; educational; and architectural. Selected developmentally appropriate characteristics of…

Chile has introduced a system of merit awards to schools called the National System to Evaluate School Performance (SNED). This paper provides information on the characteristics of the SNED approach to providing incentives to improve the quality of education. Key features of the SNED system are as follows: Awards go to school establishments, not…

This paper explores the policy background, the arguments for collaboration between agencies, the barriers which may get in the way of schools and social services working together to safeguard children, and suggestions for how these can be removed. As well as drawing on policy documents and literature around child protection, education and…

This catalog describes 44 school-reform models. It was prepared for the U.S. Department of Education in direct response to the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration program. The catalog's purpose is to aid schools, school districts, and states as they investigate external models that can be incorporated into comprehensive school-reform…

This report analyzes the 1999 Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI) survey results of Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) (Utah) conducted by the Noel-Levitz company. In 1999, a stratified random sample was utilized that produced a more representative profile of the student demographics compared to previous years (e.g., the percentage of full-time…

This document addresses the concept of a year-round educational system (YRES) as an alternative schedule for education, the associated costs of an extended school year, the operational costs for single and multi-track YRES calendars, and the potential for the avoidance of capital costs in multi-track calendars. Topics include the reduction of…

The implementation of corrective action to improve low-performing schools and school districts has varied across the nation from verbal reprimands to state and private takeover. Currently, 34 states have formal plans for corrective action. Although little evaluation of the effectiveness of these actions on improving student and school performance…

School readiness encompasses two different terms in Estonia: school maturity and school readiness. School maturity involves stages in growth a child experiences up to a certain level of development. School readiness involves that point in development at which a child is ready to enter school. Because children develop at different rates, ways…

This report provides a summary on the attainment or progress of the goals and objectives established by Williamsburg Technical College (South Carolina) for the 1998-1999 academic year. Williamsburg Technical College established 10 major goals in support of its mission during this year. To varying degrees of success, all of these major goals have…