Five sections compose this report on the federal role for the 1990s and beyond in educational research, development, and dissemination. The sections consist of: an introduction; recommendations; summaries of hearing testimonies; summaries of documents; and appendices. The direction taken in this report is the result of 2 days of subcommittee…

This preliminary staff report focuses on how nine individual school districts and one county education office implemented their own effective schools programs. The districts provided data in response to a committee questionnaire. The districts and lone county office were selected on the basis of how well their programs reflected the legislative…

This annotated bibliography of journal articles and documents on educational quality indicators contains approximately 230 entries arranged by the following topics: (1) indicator systems, including international, local/provincial/state, models, and national/federal systems; (2) interpretive framework (context, inputs, processes), including…

This document reviews schools operated by the Department of Defense (DOD) for dependents of military and DOD civilian personnel located overseas. Major issues concern the adequacy of information on educational quality provided by the schools and the responsiveness of the school system to parental concerns. Interviews, document analysis, and…

Declining school performance is commonly blamed on teachers, children, parents, or teaching techniques and materials. This volume ascribes the blame to the continued application of old techniques in the face of new circumstances; traditional authoritarian administration, suited to an earlier era, has not yet been replaced. Part I examines the…

Identifying effective and ineffective schools is a dominant issue in education in light of the increasing concern for achievement and accountability. Educators involved in school improvement projects face the dilemma of choosing from a variety of methods for measuring school effectiveness. The primary purpose of this paper is to describe for…

The Sacramento City (California) Unified School District found its own way to combine local school effectiveness assessment with state required local district quality reports. The evaluation matrix developed by the district identified information needed in six district goal areas for local long-range planning, the state-required reports, and an…

Bronfenbrenner's ecological paradigm is well suited for research on school effectiveness. Criteria for identifying effective schools should be thought of as indicators of learning occurring in a context of school practices and other influences. Use of the term "outcomes" implies a linear cause and effect relationship between school…

The results of a grant-supported project to develop a Center on Effective Elementary and Middle Schools in association with Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, are presented in this report. The first of the document's three sections describes the six basic planning activities conducted under the grant, including identification of the…

Based on the premise that secondary school improvement is a result of change at both local high school and school district levels, this study surveyed both superintendents and principals of schools engaged in improvement activities in 35 large urban school districts. Superintendents were asked to identify areas of school improvement in which…

The Portland Public Schools Board of Education requested this study of alternative education programs supported by the District to assist the staff and board in making budgetary decisions. The Task Force made the following recommendations: (1) provide support necessary to stabilize existing educational options; (2) develop school-based educational…

Prepared as part of the accreditation process, this self-study report by Rio Salado Community College (RSCC) reviews the history and assesses the current status of the college. Chapter I offers an introduction and overview of the self-study process, RSCC's accreditation history, and responses to the recommendations made by the North Central…

Instructional Accomplishment Information (IAI) systems provide schools and school districts with information for reviewing and planning their instructional programs at the class, school, and district levels. This study demonstrated the use of IAI information to illuminate further the instructional accomplishments of schools priority program to…

Neighborhood-based independent schools are more satisfactory than idealistic attempts to achieve an equitable education for minority and disadvantaged children within public institutions. Instead of assimilation, there is acute alienation from schooling for a large proportion of minority students in poor urban neighborhoods as majority-culture…

Student objectives do not always coincide with curricular labels that reflect statutory language or the public's agenda for community colleges. Studies show that nearly half of the students enrolled in so-called transfer curricula may have no intention of transferring, and that sizeable percentages of students enrolled in occupational courses go…