This article explores the relationship between teachers perceptions of administrative practice in high schools and students perceptions of the school, teachers and their own performance. It was found that where decision making is perceived by teachers as collegial, collaborative, co-operative and consultative and providing adequate opportunities…

The Baltimore City Public School System's (BCPSS) Grade 9 Transition Program was implemented in 2001-02. It is designed to increase student achievement in an era of No Child Left Behind federal legislation by providing additional time and learning opportunities for eighth-grade students who have not met all promotion standards established by the…

Few researchers have asked students directly about what they know and need to know regarding college and career planning. Given the critical choices made early in high school, ninth graders (n = 222) were surveyed regarding their educational and career plans and the resources they were using in their decision-making. Overall results as well as…

The shortcomings of standardized testing as the predominant form of student assessment in the United States are reviewed, and the use and potential benefits of portfolio assessment are explored. Children's educational experiences and their future job prospects and standards of living are being decided by test scores. Moreover, these test scores…

This paper explores the implications of an effort to promote service learning in two middle schools in the Palo Alto (California) Unified School District. The schools are grades six through eight with about 1,000 students in each. The paper describes seven service efforts and then analyzes the costs and benefits of these projects. The study…

This study is the second in a series designed to explore the probable consequences of exceeding the prescribed time limits in the administration of standardized achievement tests. This study considered whether the test user could apply norms that accompany the test if departures were made from established time limits, and whether increased testing…

The expectations of parents of students with disabilities who transferred schools through an open enrollment option were examined in this qualitative study. In-depth interviews were conducted with parents of 18 children and adolescents who transferred their child through Minnesota's open enrollment law. Interviews addressed: the student's history…

A review of the research and a case study of current practice in one large urban school district evaluate the decision-making process of including students with disabilities in systems of educational accountability and the identification and provision of suitable accommodations for such students. Issues in the inclusion of students with…

This report of the "Listen '94: Kids Can't Wait" conference presents the lives and concerns of Minnesota youth as described by the 150 youth who participated in it. The purpose of the conference was to collect ideas about concerns of youth and to seek solutions, encourage youth to take action on issues concerning them, give youth ideas…

This paper presents a critical qualitative account and analysis of resistance and contestation over the decision-making process in a special education program. The parties involved were four parent advocates, who formed an advocacy organization, and the school administration in a rural school district in the Midwest. A subtle but powerful bias…

This curriculum consists of three modules designed to provide AmeriCorps members with a foundation for learning conflict resolution skills. A trainer's guide identifies training goals, defines terms, and describes curriculum structure and delivery, training format, trainer's role, and follow-up. Modules I and II each require about 9 hours and…

A plan was developed to improve test scores in a Georgia high school. A committee of teachers, students, citizens, and a curriculum consultant was formed to analyze the school's problems and the reason for low test scores and low achievement. Data on the school climate indicated that it was poor, except that the instructional leadership of the…

This manual, which is designed for home economics teachers who are interested in using alternative forms of student assessment, shares current thinking, research, and practices regarding the use of alternative forms of assessment in family and consumer sciences occupational programs. The manual is divided into three parts. Part 1, which is devoted…

Our schools are environments of race and class and these school environments structure opportunity based on race and class. This paper explores how students' lives and their access to postsecondary education are framed and structured by the influences of race and class. The college choice decision process of three female Black students from a…

This case study of a higher education policy-making process tested a conceptual model based on a combination of political systems, behavioral power, and influence theories. The study, which followed the course and outcomes of a branch campus policy formulated in Washington state over a four-year period (1985-89), sought to show that the ability of…