This paper reports on a 1992 study of mathematics-assessment data by measuring key instructional resources and practices and by investigating the ways in which the resources and practices affect student learning in a multilayered, complex school system. The study examined research methods that assess the effectiveness of instructional resource…

This book explores the link between school character and school improvement. It focuses on the construction of a schooling system based on layered loyalties and shared accountability, ideas that build on local initiatives and concerns without compromising the interests of stakeholders. Chapter 1 examines the role that culture plays in providing a…

This paper reports on Oregon's Database Initiative Project (DIP). In response to inconsistent financial reports and a lack of automation, a project team was assembled by Oregon's Department of Education in 1997 with the goal of providing detailed school-level data for the 1997-98 school year in 16 Oregonian school districts. Among the project's…

This paper provides local educators and policy makers with information about educational indicators and their use. It opens by briefly tracing the history of the educational indicators movement in the United States and then addresses four critical issues or questions about indicators and their use: What is an indicator and an indicator system? How…

The document contains South Texas Community College (STCC) facts and data. It provides a college profile and information on access, completion, transfer rate and success, graduate employment, student development, TASP Test passage rate, academic progress of all students, stakeholder satisfaction, finance, facilities, and an appendix listing…

One of the fundamental truths of education is that effective schools are created and sustained largely through effective leadership. While it is possible for strong leaders to help a school overcome problems and weaknesses, rarely is it possible for a school to rise above its leadership in order to achieve success. Both education lore and research…

Risk arises from foreign competitors and our educational mediocrity. Nevertheless, causes for optimism exist in the commission's recommendations on curriculum content, standards and expectations, school time, teaching, leadership, and fiscal support. Neglected themes of the commission's report include lifelong learning and compatibility of…

Standardized tests are not sufficient to measure the full area of school effectiveness because they encourage the rating of students on a narrow range of capabilities, the emphasis of only one set of educational goals, and the use of a uniform set of teaching methods. (JW)

Describes how the Ellington (Connecticut) Public Schools use community visiting teams to involve the community in school improvement. Teams are chosen from among persons recommended by community groups, visit a school for three consecutive days with a consultant, accomplish five evaluation tasks, and submit a written report with recommendations.…

Comments upon a 1981 article by Alexander, Pallas, and Cook. Discusses whether particular standardized tests measure achievement or ability and the implications of this issue for school effects research. (GC)

Draws on results of recent major research efforts to assess the nature, quality, and effectiveness of vocational education programs, particularly those offered in comprehensive and vocational high schools. Three specific changes in the ways comprehensive high schools respond to their vocational education responsibilities are recommended. (PGD)

Academic press constitutes the schoolwide environmental forces pressing for student achievement, including school policies, practices, expectations, norms, and rewards. This article shows how academic press is created and how high expectations are communicated to students. (Author/JM)

Summarizes research findings on the effectiveness of principals' behaviors in the areas of knowledge and skills, goal-setting activities, and management behavior. Recommends ways to reduce barriers to effective behavior. Available from the American Association of School Administrators, 1801 North Moore Street, Arlington, VA 22209. (MLF)

Differences in disciplinary climate, academic demands, and student behavior make a difference in student achievement in all American high schools. (Author)

Dunbar High School in Little Rock (Arkansas) was a segregated public school that served Black students from 1930 to 1955. A survey of Dunbar graduates revealed that the school was a central factor in preparing them to become qualified, contributing adults. (Author/WD)