According to the literature on school-based management, there are two clear schools of thought on this issue. One school views school-based management as a positive and successful vehicle of school improvement. The other argues that it has been minimally successful in school improvement. The leadership role of the school principal is widely…

Educators are participating in a school development initiative that helps them set up an action-planning system to bring about desired changes in their schools. These staff members are participating in School Effectiveness Training (SET), an elementary school program which combines the effective schools research with team building and…

This article defines school improvement, looks at indicators of quality schools, discusses the characteristics of the middle level child and proposes practical strategies which blend research data and school level practices for the middle level learner. In order to clearly understand the school improvement movement at the middle level, one must be…

This book provides a definition of team teaching, a research-based rationale for the practice of teaming, and numerous suggestions for making the most of the opportunities that teaming offers. Among the topics discussed are: (1) teaming's relationship to successful schools; (2) planning and implementing teaming; (3) dealing with students as a…

Countless American schools are progressing toward effectiveness, ensuring that all students, regardless of family income, sex, or ethnicity, reach basic peformance levels in reading, mathematics, and language arts. Others are moving beyond effectiveness toward excellence and true equity. The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL)…

A study was conducted to explore the question of what works in secondary vocational education--whether exemplary vocational programs can be identified, whether their key features can be described, and whether there are lessons to be learned that can assist others in devising strategies to improve secondary vocational education. Methodology…

The staff of North Park School, a small urban/suburban primary school (K-3) in Wheeling, West Virginia, made their school more effective by implementing well planned and coordinated changes based on current research. The belief that all students can learn is an important characteristic of an effective school. Therefore, the goal of the North Park…

This document comprises a progress report on the 1987-88 activities of Corporate/Community Schools of America (C/CSA), a not-for-profit coalition of business executives, concerned educators, and community leaders working to reform urban public education by setting standards for higher quality and by demonstrating successful instructional methods…

Almost from the beginning, the junior high school was based on the same vision driving today's middle level schooling: the creation of a unique middle tier of education that bridges the gap between elementary and secondary education and focuses on meeting early adolescent students' academic and personal needs. In the 1950s and 1960s, middle school…

In most schools, teacher evaluation and supervision are seldom mutually exclusive. This paper synthesizes research findings and capitalizes on experience concerning these sensitive processes. After discussing three basic purposes for supervision-evaluation (staff development, school improvement, and personnel decisions), the paper carefully…

Most people understand the importance of school choice when it comes to higher educational opportunities, but until the 1990s, those very people did not understand the importance of school choice at the elementary and secondary level frequently because they felt they had no choice. The school choice movement, which started in Minnesota but which…

Statements, prepared statements, letters, and supplemental material from a hearing to review the proposed Educational Excellence Act of 1989 are presented. The goal of the legislation is to promote excellence in U.S. education through recognition of and rewards to schools, teachers, and students for outstanding achievements; encouragement of the…

School accountability options are briefly discussed in this exectuve summary of the document, "Accountability: Implications for State and Local Policymakers," by Michael W. Kirst. Six accountability policies are examined, which include performance reporting, monitoring and compliance, incentive systems, reliance on the market, changing the locus…

After defining school culture in terms of Organizational Culture, after Maehr and Braskamp (1986), this document presents three related studies, each based on data from a 1989 statewide assessment effort by the University of Illinois and the Illinois State Board of Education. The studies explore the relationship between school culture, motivation,…

An analysis of the Organizational Readiness Assessment Model, which was developed from research on the Arizona Pilot-Test Teacher Incentive Program: Career Ladders, a performance-based teacher reward system, is the purpose of this report. The model is composed of essential focus and support factors for educational improvement and success, which…