Using the metaphor of the "Wizard of Oz," this paper satirizes the use of an unofficially identified and often highly paid group of educational consultants to reform and revitalize special needs career/vocational education. It begins with the premise that leaders in the educational system believe that they can somehow install three…

The United States is trying to prepare 21st century children with a 19th century, factory-model education system that measures educational quality more by input than by outcomes. Schools must be transformed to meet the needs of a technology-driven information society, producing citizens who can analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information and…

Climate and culture are inherent in the life of every organization, including schools. They are difficult to define and even more difficult to change, yet any reform effort must address them first if it is to succeed. This report helps school leaders understand these crucial factors and measure their influences on the school. It offers various…

This paper describes the implementation of a reform program in a middle school located in a relatively large school district in southeastern Michigan. First, an integrative theory is presented as a promising framework for reforming middle-grade schools. The theory was developed within a social-cognitive framework that emphasizes the importance of…

State boards of education are routinely placed in the challenging position of reacting to emerging problems or responding to policy proposals generated by other actors in the policy arena. This policy briefing paper was written to help members of the North Carolina Board of Education identify educational policy issues they are likely to confront…

Findings from a study on the curriculum and organization of Dade public high schools are presented in this report. An honor student mentor group conducted a literature review and held discussions with assistant principals, English department heads, teachers, and students. From this research they concluded that problems in the schools are…

A century or more of reform in urban services, including schooling, has seen a competition over four core values: quality, equity, efficiency, and choice. These four are not always mutually compatible. Quality opposes equity and choice but is reinforced by efficiency, which is supported by equity. The choice value is incompatible with all the…

"America 2000" is a national strategy (not a federal program) designed to accomplish in 9 years the six national education goals first articulated by the President and the state governors at the 1989 "Education Summit" in Charlottesville, Virginia. America 2000 is described as having four major "parts," and this…

Issues and assumptions underlying the current movement toward educational reform are explored. The historical antecedents of the current interest in accountability date back to before the turn of the century, but the beginning of mandated accountability in federal programs occured in the late 1960's. Publication of "A Nation at Risk" in…

The resource guide consists of a Metaphor Module which is designed to be conducted with an audience of school leadership teams. Teams from several schools, in the same district or in different districts, can come together for the day-long workshop. The morning is spent learning the language of a nautical journey as a metaphor for the middle-grades…

This edition of the Illinois school reform law includes revisions made during the recent legislative session. The text covers every aspect of organization and administration, including finance, hiring and firing, state aid allocation, teacher training and evaluation, pupil lunches, curriculum design, educational objectives, performance audits,…

The Chicago public school system has a 50 percent dropout rate, low-achieving students, a nonresponsive bureaucracy, and many related urban school problems. The Chicago School Reform Act, PA 85-1418, was enacted by the Illinois legislature in 1989 to address the situation. To determine the effectiveness of the Chicago school reform movement thus…

"America 2000" is a long-term national strategy (not a federal program) designed to accomplish in nine years (by the year 2000) the six national education goals articulated by the President and the state governors at the 1989 "Education Summit" in Charlottesville, Virginia. This national education strategy was presented by the…

"America 2000" is a national strategy (not a federal program) designed to accomplish in nine years the six national education goals first articulated by the president and the state governors at the 1989 "Education Summit" in Charlottesville, Virginia. America 2000 is described as having four major "parts," and this…

This is the second in a series of reports that examines the role of coaches in facilitating school change. The report explains that as coaching, or external facilitation of school change, becomes a more widespread strategy for helping schools undergo comprehensive restructuring to create more professional collaborative cultures and to increase…