A 1970s research summary concluded that student participation decreases with increasing institutional size and that a school should be sufficiently small to need all of its students for its enterprises. Engaged students attend regularly, whereas marginalized students drift away. K-8 schools should not enroll more than 500 students. (Contains 12…

This study examined Texas high school teachers' perceptions of their principals as culturally proficient leaders, focusing specifically on how teacher-, school-, and principal-related factors impacted these perceptions. A sample of 104 teachers in culturally diverse secondary schools from a large urban district in Texas participated. An electronic…

As the accountability standards for schools throughout the nation become more pressing, the relationship between the school superintendent and the local school board has become even more critical to a school's success. A clearer picture of the desired competencies of school superintendents by local boards of education should assist both parties in…

This sequential mixed-methods study determined to what extent the factors identified in the literature were present in the decision to hire an internal candidate to the superintendency in Wisconsin in the last ten years. An initial survey was sent to all 424 Wisconsin public school districts and follow-up surveys sent to school board members in…

School districts in the United States have undergone large changes over the last decade to accommodate No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Arizona accommodated NCLB through Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS). Expectations were established for all students, varying by group of students based on grade, special education status, free/reduced…

Researchers in educational technology have searched for factors to explain teachers' acceptance and resistance to using technology for instruction. Among the many identified factors, however, organizational and school factors have not yet been explored and discussed. This study investigates the effects of school size on science and mathematics…

The case for small schools has been made in educational research since the 1960s, when scholars such as Barker and Gump argued that smaller schools provided students with greater opportunities for participation in various extracurricular activities. The value of small schools was further supported in the 1980s by research on public and private…

Few campus offices bear the weight of organizational health and vitality more directly than college and university admissions offices. This is particularly true for Christian colleges and universities where annual operating budgets depend largely on student tuition dollars. The purpose of the research reported in this paper was to explore rates…

This report describes the characteristics of the 100 largest public elementary and secondary school districts in the United States and its jurisdictions. These districts are defined as the 100 largest according to the size of their student population. The information in this report was provided by state education agency officials to the National…

The United States ranks first in the world among major industrialized nations in school costs and ranks nearly last in student achievement. Three massive changes in state educational policies during the last half century may account for this low educational productivity. From 1940 to 1990: (1) the number of U.S. school districts decreased 87…

As of September, 1987, school enrollment in the Canadian province of Manitoba was 209,352, an increase of 395 pupils over the previous year. Public school enrollment was 199,390, up 353 from the previous year. This was the second consecutive increase in school enrollment following a steady decline from 1971 to 1985. The largest increase per grade…

Responds to three questions dealing with school district characteristics, the effect of enrollment on educational programs, and high school size and teacher preparation. (HOD)

This digest looks at school district size and its possible relationship to school performance, defined here as aggregate achievement of a school's students on state-mandated tests. An overview of size issues briefly discusses class size, school size, district size, and organizational "scaling" or coordination of various levels of size.…

Previous studies in seven states have shown that school and district size consistently mediated the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and student achievement, with results critically relevant to state-level policymaking. The present study examined how the relationship between size and achievement varied in Arkansas schools and…

Introduces the other articles in this special issue on the size of schools districts, schools, and classrooms. Provides concise summaries of each. (BJV)