This guide describes a design for building-level school improvement in the state of Wisconsin. Summarized is effective-schools research that is designed to encourage schools and districts to become familiar with and engage in the improvement process. The first section describes what a school district needs to consider when beginning the school…

Recommendations for improving the educational programs of Hartford, Connecticut are presented in this document. In November 1983 the Hartford Board of Education held a symposium in which Board members, staff, parents, union members and representatives of the business community met to review six reports on educational reform. Five task force…

The professional expectations for a superintendent are outlined and organized under three sets of skills. Technical skills, the first set described, include (1) having language skills, (2) understanding teaching and being a teacher, (3) being current on learning theory, (4) being familiar with a variety of curricula, and (5) acting as a liaison…

This report from the Grady High School in Atlanta (Georgia) provides information on student achievement for the 1986-87 school year. The narrative presents 15 findings concerning enrollment, attendance, reading achievement, math achievement, and achievement in other subject areas. Conclusions and recommendations generated from these findings are…

This loose-leaf compendium, the first in a projected series of five, includes three types of brief research summaries: "topical synthesis,""close-ups," and "snapshots." The single topical synthesis, by Greg Druian and Jocelyn A. Butler is entitled "Effective Schooling Practices and At-Risk Youth: What the…

This topical synthesis addresses the problematic issue of whether the techniques, processes, and procedures that generally result in effective, high-quality education will also achieve results with at-risk youth. After an extended introduction that raises this question, the key characteristics of effective schools are specified as leadership, a…

In this annotated bibliography of 12 publications on school climate are 3 entries that suggest specific ways to improve the school climate and 1 that outlines leadership techniques for principals. Ways to assess school climate are covered by a review of assessment instruments, a discussion of the measurement issues, a description of major…

Most of the 10 publications reviewed in this annotated bibliography focus on the principals' role in communicating high expectations for student achievement. The first article describes techniques principals can use to encourage excellence, such as complimenting teachers for exemplary efforts, carefully monitoring instruction via supervision and…

The literature of the effective schools movement argues for three very different images of what constitutes leadership, which are regarded in this paper as confused images of leadership. The first image is of a supremely pragmatic but rational actor, the second is of a leader who adheres to the norms typical of the local community culture, and the…

Assessing the effectiveness of institutional efforts in student retention in Georgia higher education is addressed in papers from a conference sponsored by the University of Georgia. Included are Patrick T. Terenzini's keynote address, "What Research Tells Us about Student Retention" and an address by Harry Carter, "Student…

Curriculum alignment means determining precisely what is intended to be taught, teaching that specifically, and measuring specifically what was taught. This paper contends that the alignment of objectives, actual teaching, and the means and content of testing are essential to effective schooling. The logical arguments of three authorities--Wilbur…

This monograph describes the Middle Grades Assessment Program (MGAP), presents 11 case studies of schools implementing the program, and offers experience-based suggestions for school improvement. The MGAP provides an approach to school improvement that involves training staff to assess their school on nine criteria, an approach designed for…

The difficulties faced by Chicago's public school system have prompted two state-level investigative bodies to recommend the breaking up of the system into smaller, locally controlled units. Without exhaustively reviewing all of the factors involved in making the transition from a centralized to a decentralized school governance structure, this…

Project SHAL was undertaken in four northern St. Louis (Missouri) schools (Stowe, Hempstead, Arlington, and Laclede) in an effort to introduce key features of effective schools into the educational system. One of the project's major goals was to develop a model for implementing effective schooling procedures that would permit replication of the…

A summary and critique is presented on research of effective schools, based primarily on a review of the reviews written about that work. It is pointed out that the majority of research findings came from studies of elementary schools and focused upon the characteristics of effective schools for minority and poor students. Most research reviewed…