Although the research base on teaching, learning, and effective schools has expanded, the results of that research have been implemented only to a limited degree, either in the classroom or in the training of teachers. One of the accusations that have frequently been made against teacher education is that it does not use a theoretical,…

Contrary to expectations a decade ago, the United States has not buried the dichotomy between vocational education and academic education. Instead, as shown by the publication of the report, "A Nation at Risk," the academic community is again declaring war on the vocational education establishment. This report, which stresses the need…

This document, the second in a series, delineates mandatory procedures for onsite school evaluations as adopted by the Ohio State Board of Education, pursuant to the adoption of the 1983 minimum standards. These procedures give direction to the system of education in Ohio, while allowing flexibility within the standards to establish educational…

This document examines approaches to educational reform currently under consideration in the Pacific Northwest and discusses policy issues involved with these reform efforts. The introduction discusses broad-scale policy issues, including the setting of priorities amid the diversity of reforms, the clarifying of beliefs and selection of changes…

This paper describes the activities and experiences of a technical assistance consultant working with a superintendent and assistant superintendent to implement the Achievement Directed Leadership (ADL) school improvement program during 1981-82. The paper's first section describes the ADL program's "top-down" implementation plan, with…

This four-part study of the educational concerns of ethnic minority groups in the United States by the National Education Association (NEA) comprises the following parts: (1) American Indian/Alaskan Native Concerns; (2) Asian and Pacific Islander Concerns; (3) Black Concerns; and (4) Hispanic Concerns. Goals are the following: (1) specify the…

Using a microanalytic case study approach, school effectiveness/school improvement strategies in a Northeastern urban public school district are examined. Recent research findings have indicated inconclusive and, at times, negative results related to the implementation of such strategies. The 202,469 students enrolled in 257 schools within the…

This study focused on the implementation of "top-down" California state-initiated reform in secondary schools and the impact of that process on several outcomes: student academic achievement and the capacity of the organization to carry out ongoing reform. The research was part of a broader study of secondary school reform and how the…

This book is a series of questions that parents can use in gathering information about the education quality of a particular school. These questions could be asked of school officials at the school being considered. The contents of this guide are divided into sections by topic: (1) school district philosophy/goals/objectives; (2) accreditation;…

This report represents the efforts of a commission of 20 citizens who were directed by the Illinois General Assembly to identify the principal problems in Illinois' elementary and secondary schools and to recommend specific actions for improving the State's educational program. The commission concluded that student learning should be the foremost…

Based on findings from the "High School and Beyond" (HS&B) national longitudinal study conducted in 1980, an agenda is suggested for decision making within schools that serve Hispanic children. This agenda is based on the needs and attitudes of the children and includes the following: (1) an emphasis on human relations of the school…

In an attempt to correlate effective school practices with actual observed student achievement, a survey instrument concerning principal leadership and school climate was distributed to classroom teachers in the Oklahoma City Public Schools. Responses by more than half of the teachers yielded 1,294 usable questionnaires representing all 94 schools…

Some ninth-grade students from three Knoxville City high schools have continuously performed substantially less well than those from other city schools in the Tennessee State proficiency tests. A task force developed a plan to work with grade 8 in the middle schools and grade 9 in the high schools to prepare students to perform better on state…

The current phase of the Ways to Improve Education in Desegregated Schools (WIEDS) project is described in this final interim report. In 1981, the project sought to develop, test, and produce a model and set of guidelines for more effective inservice teacher education in desegregated schools. The goal, design, and methodology (including…

Nine public schools in New Jersey, eight of which are in urban areas, are separately described as samples of schools with a high level of student achievement in the basic skills, and with demographic characteristics that are similar to those of schools with serious achievement problems. Eight elementary schools and one high school are included in…