This report describes an evaluation of charter schools in Arizona. Eighty-two charter schools representing the 137 charter-school holders in the state participated in the study. The schools were selected to be representative of all state charter schools with regard to location, population density, grade level, and sponsoring agency. A total of 303…

This report seeks to further the debate about the overall reform impact of Colorado's charter schools. It focuses on the characteristics and performance of the first 32 charter schools in the state, ones that have been operating for at least 2 years as of the end of the 1997-98 school year. The document identifies promising trends: the performance…

This handbook is designed to help parents learn more about what is taking place in the schools their children attend and to help parents evaluate the effectiveness of the school's academic program. It offers tips for locating important information and identifies where assistance can be obtained. A checklist is provided to help parents identify the…

Overcoming decades of labor, financial and performance troubles, the Chicago school system has enjoyed improving test scores 3 consecutive years, rising attendance, and labor peace under a new contract balancing the budget. Despite some criticism, the Chicago system enjoys reform successes in six areas: (1) improved governance; (2) greater…

This study examined how firmly formalized institutional effectiveness processes were in place on college campuses and whether those processes were deemed successful and useful by campus communities, noting the effectiveness of Web-based surveying to collect information. Respondents were college administrators involved in their institution's…

This report presents a brief overview of the most common approaches to the calculation of transfer rates and discusses the use of a transfer rate as a measure of institutional effectiveness. It provides an overview of existing practices and helps to inform a discussion of whether or not transfer rate data should be collected from British Columbia…

The goal at the National Center for Educational Accountability (NCEA) is to support school efforts to reach excellence--to raise academic expectations and to promote those practices that will help more students reach those expectations. The "Just for the Kids School Information Service" is the process NCEA has created to accomplish this goal in a…

Study sought to determine the feasibility of using a modified form of Judgment Analysis (JAN) as a vehicle for identifying a policy of rated school effectiveness in the experimental League of Cooperating Schools (LCS) project. (Authors)

The effective school's perspective for evaluating educational programs is not a scientific but rhetorical reform model. Definition of effective schooling must include school-wide and continuing achievement gains. Effective schooling research is geared toward educational policy. Effective schooling research should instruct administrators and…

Describes a framework for moving from the general school effectiveness factors to specific practices and behaviors focusing on strong leadership by the principal. Outlines the general functions of instructional leadership, then narrows to one function, monitoring student progress, and derives specific principal behaviors. (MLF)

Presents a checklist for determining the presence in individual schools of the characteristics determined by research to be typical of effective schools. Suggests ways of improving schools by using the checklist, which covers administrator and teacher behaviors and instructional program characteristics. (PGD)

Achievement is up in Washington State's District 414 where administrators have reorganized their responsibilities in order to spend more hours on instructional leadership. (Author/JM)

Implementing recommendations derived from research and literature on school effectiveness, 20 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) schools have set and enforced standards that reflect their belief in their students' ability to achieve. (Author/JM)

A Statements about Schools Inventory was used to assess the attitudes of teachers and students about the degree to which alternative and conventional high schools meet the needs in Maslow's hierarchy. Results showed that alternative school environments are more conducive to the satisfaction of basic human needs. (SK)

Presents two new approaches to improving academic achievement in inner-city schools--group-based, mastery-learning reading instruction and curriculum alignment. Explains why fundamental school reform and incremental improvement, introduced in the 1970s, failed to yield consistent results. (Author/WD)