Teachers, districts, and states working with the Northwest Regional Education Laboratory have been using a six-trait analytical scoring assessment model for student writing. The six traits are: (1) ideas; (2) organization; (3) voice; (4) word choice; (5) sentence fluency; and (6) conventions. For the last 4 years, the Northwest Regional Education…

Materials related to Hudson's Bay High School's (Vancouver, Washington) program to improve school effectiveness are presented. On the first page are enumerated six steps that were taken to implement the program, including the administration of an Effective Schools Evaluation Instrument asking faculty to identify needed improvements. Eight teams…

Identification of principals' instructional leadership behaviors and the time they spend involved in the process of school improvement is the purpose of this study. A second focus is on the ways in which principals build school cultures. The Principals Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) (Hallinger 1983), the National Task-Time Survey…

In 1981, when Chapter 1 replaced Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I and with the advent of the effective schools movement, the Hawaii state administrators of Chapter 1 made a long term commitment to program improvement, especially in the area of instruction and quality delivery of services to the target students. In this program…

A federally funded research project investigated the relationship between academic learning time (ALT) and achievement of 43 educable mentally retarded, emotionally disturbed, and learning-disabled students, aged 7-13, in grades 1-5. The project's final report, titled "An Analysis of the Impact of Instructional Time within Different Service…

This paper examines the research on how student-to-instructor ratio effects influence schooling, with particular attention to how the research relates to low-achieving children. It also summarizes the conclusions of several existing reviews of literature on: the effects on schooling outcomes of class or instructional group size; and scheduled,…

To investigate how the number of years students spend studying academic subjects affects their achievement, this study compiled data from a nationwide longitudinal study of 58,000 high school students begun in 1980, and from 1982 College Board testing files. Years of instruction in seven subject areas were related, using statewide averages, to…

The Junior High School Management Improvement Study (JMIS) was a field experiment conducted to verify and extend findings of previous research in English and mathematics classes. Using student behaviors (on task, off task, and disruptive behavior) as criteria of management effectiveness, this study investigated classroom management practices in 26…

In response to recent national reports on educational excellence and effective schools, the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges commissioned research and recommendations for possible standards and policy revision or implementation in three areas: (1) student conduct and attendance; (2) length of the student day/year and more effectively…

This paper presents ideas relating to curriculum organization from the Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development publication, "Excellence in Our Schools: Making It Happen," which attempted to synthesize nine reports written in response to the National Commission on Excellence in Education report, "A Nation at…

This speech discusses problems that principals face in trying to implement effective school strategies, describes ongoing research in instructional management, and identifies school improvement strategies used by particularly effective principals. The first section addresses practical problems in finding the appropriate balance between high…

School boards can improve their schools if they focus on four factors that educational research says most strongly influence school effectiveness. The four factors are (1) the time students spend on the subject matter each day, (2) textbooks, (3) teachers and their teaching methods, and (4) principals' support to help teachers achieve…

This meta-analysis of 49 comparative studies shows that mastery testing has positive effects on student learning, but the size of effect depends on the stringency of the criterion used and the degree of experimental control. The effects of instructional time, student attitudes, and differences in ability levels are also addressed. (Author/LRW)

This study investigated the effect of reward structure and group ability composition on small group computer-assisted instruction. Junior high school students practiced algebra in mixed-ability or uniform-ability groups, and rewards were based on individual performance, group performance, or a combination of both. (29 references) (Author/LRW)

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and instructors are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured…