Examines the relationship between principals' strategies to coordinate organizational activities and school effectiveness. The dominant view of effective principals suggests that they generally emphasize tasks directly related to teaching and learning and exert influence to coordinate these tasks. Results of a study of Israeli elementary school…

Discusses indicator systems and the relationship among indicators, development, and accountability for strategic management of school system improvement. Explains a system of indicators developed to monitor the effectiveness of practice, highlighting these indicators' dual purpose (school development and quality management). Areas requiring most…

Describes a multistate study focusing on six school districts that had engaged in districtwide school-improvement plans based on effective-schools research. The study examined superintendents' behaviors and activities to determine how they facilitated the school-improvement process. Findings showed that each superintendent (through his/her focus,…

A site visitor for the U.S. Department of Education's 1993-94 National School Recognition Program describes several qualities common to exemplary schools. Collaborative leadership heads the list, followed by a wholesome, interactive teaching environment; a developmentally appropriate, thematic, and interdisciplinary curriculum; high expectations…

Modeling high schools after track teams might yield surprising results. Schools and classrooms should be organized to exude a sincere, open invitation for student participation; acceptance of students' voluntary commitment; and educators' commitment to limit the curriculum, personalize instruction, and celebrate both individual and group…

Understanding the climate and culture of the campus is essential to improving organizational effectiveness. Institutional researchers will be influenced increasingly by research in this area, by improving their awareness, defining important dimensions of the institutional culture, establishing benchmarks for future reference, actively undertaking…

Efficacious people set high, clear goals for themselves, orchestrate more efforts to succeed, persevere despite obstacles, are possibility thinkers, and are less vulnerable to frustration and depression than others. Self-efficacy and organizational efficacy can be developed through coaching techniques, such as cognitive and behavior modeling,…

Discusses the feasibility of educational development in a disadvantaged area of Sri Lanka, considering expectations which are unreasonably high. Concludes that ambitious goals should be operationalized at a practical level. Recommends using the human resources of eager children, supportive parents, and dedicated educators to improve education. (KS)

A multidimensional definition was developed for the content universe of "organizational effectiveness" (OE) by using a mapping sentence. The definition's applicability was examined in an effectiveness study of an Israeli university, using data for 1,001 undergraduates. Relations among measures reflecting aspects of OE specific to…

Describes outcomes accreditation at Maine West High School, focusing on selecting and developing goals for target areas; establishing committees; identifying means of measurement; gathering baseline data; establishing performance expectations; developing, reviewing, and implementing school improvement plan; gathering/assessing follow-up data; and…

Explores relationship between teacher perceptions of structural coupling in their schools and their perceptions of school robustness and effectiveness in study of 79 participating schools. Results suggested that teacher perceptions of relatively tight coupling of goal direction and work supervision structures and relatively loose coupling of…

Technology in alternative-education programs can help retain at-risk secondary students. Technology can also help physically challenged students participate in classroom activities. (SK)

Examines the values and assumptions that underpin school effectiveness research and the problems of applying its findings to schools in light of critiques. Argues that the issues at stake between school effectiveness researchers and critics are understandable as disagreements about the nature and purposes of schooling rather than about facts. (DSK)

Control charts are practical tools to monitor various school indicators (attendance rates, standardized test scores, grades, and graduation rates) by displaying data on the same scale over time. This article shows how principals can calculate the upper natural-process limit, lower natural-process limit, and upper control limit for attendance. (15…

School districts often lack the capacity for turning vast amounts of existing student-performance data into useful information for helping teachers and improving classrooms. The California Accountability Project helps districts to function more systematically on behalf of children and to understand schools' pockets of success and underperformance.…