This report considers the situation of the Illinois public schools and provides an affirmative argument summarizing the most recent research in four key areas where research has demonstrated that money clearly makes a difference in the quality of the education product: (1) establishing classroom sizes that meet the individual needs of students;…

Fundamental educational change is more difficult, complex, and controversial than the change professional literature has acknowledged. This Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) yearbook is a collection of writings that address the difficulties of educational change. Following the foreword by Frances Faircloth Jones and the…

This report presents results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1994 trend assessments in science, mathematics, reading, and writing. To provide a numeric summary to students' performance on the assessments, the NAEP used a 0 to 500 scale for each subject area. Comparisons of average scale scores are provided across the…

This report is intended to assist teachers, administrators, parents, and community leaders in achieving excellence in California's public elementary education. The report is also designed to help teachers and administrators engage elementary school students in a thinking curriculum that immerses students in a rich learning environment that…

The Committee of Conference report on a Senate bill to promote educational reform is reported in this document. The purposes of the bill, cited as the "Neighborhood Schools Improvement Act," are to: promote achievement of the National Education Goals; measures progress toward these goals; develop national education standards and…

This volume contains 17 articles on the emergence and potential of "Quality Improvement" (QI) efforts in higher education. Quality Improvement is defined as continuous improvement of processes in a cycle of plan (administration of instructional processes), do/check (assess), act (on the assessment and then continue to), plan-do-check-act. The…

A program implemented in a school district in central New Jersey was designed to: (1) create at least four magnet school options for elementary school children; (2) reduce the suspension rate at the elementary level; (3) reduce the student referral rate for special education; (4) decrease the number of students requiring basic skills services; and…

This guide describes the status of selected family resource programs in the United States and Canada. The first chapter provides detailed descriptions of 13 programs that offer collaborative and comprehensive services. These programs, which are often large and innovative, foster coalitions of service providers in order to offer an extensive range…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is one part of a comprehensive assessment system that is evolving in the United States. In the view of the NAEP Technical Subgroup for the National Education Goals Panel, the NAEP should be an independent, statistically rigorous longitudinal measure of educational attainment in the essential…

Major arguments, both pro and con, for applying the "schools of choice" approach to educational improvement in Detroit (Michigan) are described, and the results of a recent public opinion survey are reported. The main argument of proponents of school choice is that it will improve the quality of public education. Opponents of choice do…

The goal of the district assessment program of the Des Moines (Iowa) school district is to provide information which improves teaching and increases learning. Students participate in a number of assessment activities, including norm-referenced, standardized tests, college entrance examinations, Advanced Placement Tests, the district's…

This book traces the restructuring of a Texas school district that moved from management by coercion to continuous improvement for quality. In 1990, the Dickinson Independent School District (Texas) began implementation of Continuous Improvement Management (CIM), based on the teachings of W. Edwards Deming, William Glasser, and J. M. Juran.…

The purpose of the Teaching Research Assistance to Children and Youth Experiencing Sensory Impairments (TRACES) Project was to provide technical assistance to state and multistate projects to improve the quality of existing placements and services for children with deaf-blindness. Seven major objectives guided project activities: assist projects…

Arguing that the multitude of federal, state and local laws governing the California Community Colleges (CCC) drains the system's capacity to serve students seeking educational opportunity, this paper examines how the state's colleges came to be micro-managed and offers possible solutions. Part I provides a history of laws and structures governing…

This digest describes efforts to improve academic learning for middle level high school students to be applied practically to develop workplace competence and flexibility by integrating academic and vocational education. Following an introduction describing the need to prepare students for working life is a paragraph describing generally the…