Contradictory public expectations, public and administrative indifference to intellectual content and process in schools, an absence of any clear educational mission, and fragmentation of power characterize today's schools. Decision making is thus increasingly difficult. Restored purpose and power require shared vision and effective use of power.…

Many educators have been too quick to use traditional statistical data as measures of school effectiveness. Instead, educators should develop means of understanding and communicating to the public measures of social variables that operate in effective schools. (JW)

Several studies indicate that often principal selection operates on the buddy system. New ways to select the most competent person for the principalship include identifying employees with leadership potential, internships, structured interviews, and assessment centers. (MLF)

Declining test scores are but a reflection of the problems prevalent in American schools but improving school performance is not totally within the control of teachers. A National Education Association Teacher Opinion Study indicates that teachers think tests become an end in themselves rather than a basis for sound educational purposes.…

The civil rights accomplishments and precepts of Dr. King are reviewed and parallels are drawn to the present problems of public education. It is argued that a belief such as his, in people of good will, must be reawakened to force the schools to be passionate and compassionate institutions. (Author/CM)

Notes that television as an educational force competes very successfully with schools. Cites five characteristics which make television an inappropriate form for educating society's children. Proposes adopting a school curriculum that treats all disciplines in terms of their historical development, to counter television's antihistorical,…

Drawing on hypotheses inferred from survey findings concerning principals' attitudes toward community involvement in the schools, the author suggests using principals' support of teacher autonomy and principals' encouragement of community involvement as the two dimensions of a model of school-community relations. (PGD)

Believing that educational reforms are overdue, the author proposes three radical solutions: only validated instructional programs should be implemented, results of systematic public assessments of pupil achievements in learning should be published annually, and teachers should periodically submit evidence of learning achievement in their classes.…

Our schools need a provisional morality that expresses the common beliefs of a democratic pluralistic society. The crisis of authority in American schools is a lack of agreement on what provisional morality ought to be. As a result, we declare that children can choose their own morality as long as they don't commit crimes. (Author/JOW)

Using arithmetic-achievement data on 50,000 pupils in 560 Dutch elementary schools, explores differences among high-, average-, and low-achieving schools. Only one characteristic, educational leadership, was related (negatively) to effectiveness. Teachers in highly effective schools give more whole-class instruction, have the same goals for all…

The United Kingdom's educational reforms promote parental choice and school competition. This paper examines social-class differences among parents and their relationship to choice, using PASCI (Parental and School Choice Interaction) study data. Schools are concentrating on middle-class, academically oriented parents. However, market forces…

Australians were reluctant to become involved in the school-effectiveness approach because of concerns about standardized testing procedures. Driven by economic considerations, some large-scale effectiveness research projects have been commissioned by Commonwealth and state governments. Recent reports show evidence of close links between school…

The Netherlands has a flourishing, quantitatively sophisticated effectiveness research base that seems relatively unused within practice and abused by the political sphere. Dutch studies evince context specificity (while failing to replicate some validated school-effectiveness factors), sophisticated theoretical formulation, multiple-level…

Identifies factors distinguishing fast-starter from slow-starter schools during the first year of the Memphis Restructuring Initiative, which follows a "cell-division" implementation model. Startup is enhanced by strong administrative leadership; a restructuring model matching schools' current beliefs; curricula aligned with state…

Principals in 103 elementary and 76 junior high schools assessed the importance of 39 school effectiveness criteria. A satisfactory eight-factor solution was found for junior high schools but the elementary solution was less discrete. Implications for assessing school effectiveness are discussed. (SLD)