This qualitative single-case study describes effective leadership practices implemented in a Title I school that was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School. The study highlights best practices utilized by one school leader to assist new and experienced school leaders in understanding the strategies and impact of principals on instruction,…

New analyses by researchers across the ideological spectrum have found that increasing overall funding for schools can improve student achievement, particularly for low-income students. However, the growing consensus is that strategic state policies are needed to substantially increase the size of the impact of additional funding. These policies…

The Mastery-Based Learning Collaborative (MBLC) is a demonstration project taking place in 24 schools in Washington State. The schools receive funding and participate in professional learning and a statewide network to support implementation of mastery-based learning (MBL) and culturally responsive-sustaining education (CRSE). The initiative's…

School-level inefficiencies and mismanagement can have serious repercussions for human resource development and labor market outcomes. This paper investigates the extent and consequences of existing technical inefficiency of schools with respect to their resource- and people-management aspects at a cross-country level across Organisation for…

This qualitative study investigates the perceptions of alternative school administrators in North Carolina about the impact of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) on them and their campuses. The study interviewed four alternative high school administrators with schools labeled as Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) during the 2018-2019…

A growing body of research points to the substantial influence of principals on school conditions and students' learning. But how can principals learn to be good leaders? And are there professional learning strategies that make a difference in principal effectiveness? This study, which is part of a larger project synthesizing the research on…

Because high-stakes testing for school accountability does not begin until third grade, accountability ratings for elementary schools do not directly measure students' academic progress in grades K through 2. While it is possible that children's test scores in grades 3 and above are highly correlated with children's outcomes in the untested…

This report looks at Rochester, New York, where, in the 2019-2020 school year, 11 public charter schools enrolled slightly more than 18 percent of public school students. Given that Rochester's charter schools educate a large proportion of that city's students, it is important to understand exactly how those schools are performing and whether…

This article draws on the case of academic work produced by Colombian scholars, to address the debate on the persistent failure of policy efforts to improve school effectiveness. Realist meta-theory plays a significant role in this research, because it provides a general framework to identify ontological problems and inconsistencies in empirical…

Offering academic programs that meet community need has long been a core mission of community colleges. However, determining which job skills and credentials are needed for employment in the community is challenging. In order to facilitate a holistic and community-based perspective, our 2-year community college developed a structured curricular…

The idea that school systems should become self-improving is a growing trend internationally. Put simply, this involves the strengthening of links between schools so that they can provide mutual support and challenge. So far, however, there is little research that throws light on what is involved in attempts to introduce this approach for the…

This paper derives efficiency scores for around 8,500 schools in 30 countries, using Programme for International Student Assessment 2012 data and a nonparametric approach called data envelopment analysis as method. On average, achievement scores of schools can be increased by 27%, holding inputs constant. Efficiency scores vary considerably both…

All higher education institutions are required to be accountable to their accrediting body and various stakeholders through a process known as Institutional Effectiveness (IE). Each institution has its own culture for how the organization as a whole is governed and how it meets its regulations for compliance. This dissertation addresses the…

More research is needed to refine what is known about specific sets of skills that are needed to transform low-performing schools. This study examined the perspectives of principals and faculty members regarding the principal behaviors associated with rapid student achievement growth in low-performing schools. The findings disclosed the…

While numerous recent authors have studied the effects of school accountability systems on student test performance, there has been very little research with regards to school mobility with school performance grades in an A-F system. For the purpose of this study, mobility is defined as a school's ability to have an increase or decrease in their…