Argues that school officials need to increase their knowledge about the criticism being leveled at public education. Offers a historical perspective on educational criticism, lists sources of information about schooling, and discusses factors that limit comparisons between present and past student achievement. (FL)

Vague goals, unmanaged technology, minimal accountability, and little contact among staff members are characteristics that many schools share with other loosely coupled organizations. Effective schools do not share these characteristics. Some strategies for eliminating these traits are suggested. (PGD)

Reports on the successful, widespread adoption of the effective schools research model in widely varied districts. Discusses factors common to these school improvement programs, including acceptance of five premises concerning the nature of effective schooling. (PGD)

Focuses on the critical role of the superintendent and of district level policies in creating preconditions for local school improvement. Describes the dilemma of school leaders who must make important policy decisions in the face of time pressures and political demands. (JOW)

Elements included in a recent publication of the College Board's Educational EQuality Project (establarehed in 1980) that defines what students need to know and do to succeed in college, "Academic Preparation for College" or the "Green Book," is currently being implemented in 13 model high school-college collaboratives across…

This document summarizes the Public Community and Technical College Institutional Effectiveness Process sponsored by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The Institutional Effectiveness (IE) process was implemented in response to the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act, which stipulates that public institutions of…

Using multilevel modeling and data from 10 Latin American countries, this paper provides new evidence on the relative effectiveness of public and private schools. There are substantial differences in the achievement of private and public schools, usually around one-half a standard deviation. A small portion of these differences is accounted for by…

This paper describes and evaluates the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award process as a model for educational improvement. The Baldrige model is evaluated using the views of M. Greene and E. Eisner and data collected from an elementary public school in which the model has been implemented for 5 years. The Baldrige National Quality Program and…

This document discusses the institutional self-evaluation process at the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP), examining the college-wide performance indicators that measured CCP's effectiveness. Five broad areas of institutional effectiveness are covered in this report: workforce development; transfer preparation; student persistence, goal…

This study developed two methods for estimating the effect of schooling on achievement test scores that control for the endogeneity of schooling by postulating that both schooling and test scores are generated by a common unobserved latent ability. The methods were applied to data on schooling and test scores. Estimates from the two methods are in…

This report presents the results of the fourth annual survey of programs linking state budgeting to public college and university performance. A telephone survey conducted with all 50 state higher education finance officers examined the status, prospects, and impact of performance funding and performance budgeting in their state. Respondents were…

Presents the 1997 edition of the City College of San Francisco (CCSF) in California Planning Atlas, which is a report on the status and progress the college has made on achieving the goals set forth in the Strategic Plan. The Planning Atlas consists of six chapters covering the primary and secondary indicators to measure each goal of the college's…

This manual is designed to help schools make successful school reform a reality. It provides the background and perspectives necessary for a school constituency to understand the current climate of education reform in the United States and what is known about successful school reform. The manual also provides inquiry-based techniques for…

This report highlights and summarizes accountability activities and initiatives submitted by Illinois's 48 community colleges in their Accountability/Program Review Reports. This report has three primary sections: (1) Accountability Special Focus Area, which describes college priorities, performance-based incentives--district-based goal, and…

This book is intended for school principals at every level to help develop a plan for raising mathematics achievement in their schools. Chapter 1 explores the current state of mathematics achievement in the United States and suggests some of the reasons why students as a whole do not compare more favorably with their international counterparts.…