Describes the process of performance measurement: What is being measured, how it may be affected by factors (such as parent involvement) beyond the school's control, what measures of performance might be appropriate, and what directions research might take that will increase knowledge of those things that affect (or drive) the learning process.…

Uses simulated data to assess the adequacy of two econometric and linear-programming techniques (data-envelopment analysis and corrected ordinary least squares) for measuring performance-based school reform. In complex data sets (simulated to contain measurement error and endogeneity), these methods are inadequate efficiency measures. (Contains 40…

Developmental (vertical) scales are often constructed for subject areas such as reading and mathematics that are taught continuously in elementary schools. In other subjects such as science, and across a wider grade span, such scales are hard to justify. For tracking student progress and school accountability (including the No Child Left Behind…

Many U.S. educators now wonder whether they're teachers or targets. This mentality stems from the specter of their school being sanctioned for failing the state accountability tests mandated under No Child Left Behind (NCLB). According to this author, most of those tests are like blunt-edged swords: They function badly in two directions. While…

An analysis of recent publications in the field of school effectiveness studies shows that virtually no contributions have been made in that knowledge domain with respect to the effectiveness of Christian schools. To address this shortcoming--while keeping the undesirability of a package approach to Christian education in mind--a…

Achievement data from a longitudinally matched student cohort from a large school district in the southwestern United States were analyzed to investigate sample exclusion and student attrition effects on estimates of student, school, and district mathematics performance. Use of 2- and 3-level longitudinal growth models to estimate the growth…

This article reviews school effectiveness theory, concentrating on the unidimensionality of the school effect concept, and focuses on differential school effectiveness, by which is meant the capacity of the school to be effective with different groups of pupils. It presents findings from research exploring the associations between sex, social…

Since its publication in 1983, "A Nation at Risk" has caused several waves and ripples of educational reform. This article puts that report in the context of earlier responses to perceived education crises. One such important response was from the private sector: the New American Schools Development Corporation (NAS). NAS attempted to create,…

Educational research is widely construed as the scientific investigation of the causes of 'effective' teaching. Discussion of values and philosophical problems is condemned as descent into 'ideology'. Opposing this is a conception of teaching as "phronesis" where educational research and philosophy may be desirable, but have no direct relationship…

I argue in this paper that the hidden and official curriculum of Slovenian public elementary schools work together to develop an ethnocentric and Eurocentric frame of mind when judging other cultures. This presents an obstacle for the professed promotion of intercultural learning and valuation, and fosters the social marginalisation of ethnic…

The concept of life-long learning has become a frequently used term in political and educational parlance. The final aim of schools has to be the development of the self-directed learner by developing the students' life-long learning competences. To realize this goal schools have to change from institutions that transfer knowledge into learning…

Describes ethnocentric schools and three Native Hawaiian charter schools, all of which have strong community support, high parental involvement, and access to funds available only for Native Hawaiian programs. Discusses implications for U.S. education in general. (SLD)

Improving the quality of state-funded secondary school education remains a major explicit policy aim in the UK. The central means by which state-provided education in the UK is now regulated is through the system of inspections carried out by the Office of Standards in Education (Ofsted), set up in 1992. The research reported in this paper…

This study investigated the relationships among several different indicators of high school performance: test scores, dropout rates, transfer rates, and attrition rates. Hierarchical linear models were used to analyze panel data from a sample of 14,199 students who took part in the National Education Longitudinal Survey of 1988. The results…

In this article, the author discusses the impact of compulsory state schooling in North America. The author stresses that schools are not making kids smarter, more capable or more skilled. The basic aspects of everyday school life have emerged and continue to evolve not as a response to the needs of students, but as driven by institutional needs.…