Efforts at one high school to reconsider its practices of ability grouping and explore alternative assessment and grouping practices are described. Assessment of the schools' practices found that students in lower ability groups had a less stimulating curriculum, fewer positive role models, lower motivation, lower expectations for themselves, and…

This book discusses the inclusion of children with disabilities in general education settings and provides accounts of successful inclusive school communities. A prologue by Michael S. Berres is titled "All Children, All Schools." Chapter 1, "Is It Inclusion Yet? Bursting the Bubbles" (Dianne L. Ferguson), reviews the status of…

A relatively systemic approach to education reform emerged in the 1990s as one way of addressing policy fragmentation. This volume contains the case studies from a study that sought to: (1) expand knowledge of state approaches to systemic education reform; (2) examine district, school, and teacher responses to state reform policies in a small…

Intended as a guidebook for middle level educators as they seek to institute educational experiences appropriate to the adolescents in their programs, this book discusses the issues and assets of middle school education in rural settings. Chapter 1 of the book is an introduction, discussing the concept of middle school as applied to small rural…

The primary tasks of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) sponsored research projects taken from Department of Education (DOE) Requests for Proposals from March 1990 are listed, and extracts from winning proposals are presented. As reflected in the list of topics of the 17 Centers that OERI announced it would fund, educational…

This study investigated the perceptions of various stakeholders concerning the current and future roles and functions of the Middle East Technical University (METU), a leading large public university in Turkey. The data used in this paper were derived from a larger research project that was designed to assess the quality of various dimensions of…

In a rural Washington school district 60 percent of teachers and administrators have completed a course on collaboration as part of a key effort to bring a collaborative culture to their schools. This course was one part of a change effort that included development of School Advisory Committees where teachers and administrators made significant…

This book describes how an urban public school assumed ownership of the problems of its homeless students and their families and assumed responsibility for correcting social ills and building a better society. The B. F. Day School in Seattle (Washington) was transformed through the efforts of the principal, Carole Williams. When she took over the…

This volume, which describes the status of public education in Utah for the year 1993-94, focuses on the issue of educational reform. Following the introduction and overview, chapter 1 reviews reform legislation and implementation efforts during the last decade. It describes the context for reform in political, demographic, and economic terms.…

Success for All is a comprehensive schoolwide restructuring program that has improved reading achievement, increased attendance, reduced special education referrals and placements, and virtually eliminated within-grade retentions in high-poverty elementary schools serving African American children. It is noted that as Success for All has expanded…

This compilation of 11 program descriptions examines effective uses of educational technology with students with special needs. Central Kitsap School District in Silverdale, Washington, developed "Strategy 2020" to restructure the delivery of instruction through extensive use of technology. Toms River (New Jersey) Regional School District has…

The American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) Alliance for Tomorrow's Teachers is a collaborative effort among the University of North Florida, Florida Community College at Jacksonville, the Clay and Duval County (Florida) school systems, and the Clay and Duval County teachers' unions. The goals of the program are to: (1) restructure the…

An examination was done of school reform efforts supported by Bank Street College of Education's Center for Minority Achievement in two urban junior high schools in New York City. One school was a traditional junior high school with majority minority enrollment with most teachers using traditional techniques. The other school, the Media Arts…

In the fall of 1990, seven teachers at the Ralph Bunche School, a public elementary school in Harlem (New York) began an experiment in school restructuring they called the Computer Mini-School. An unexpected outcome of the project was an increase in standardized test scores among their 120 students. This outcome is explored. It is argued that the…

California's community colleges face tremendous challenges, from diminishing fiscal resources to increasing student diversity. To meet these challenges, community colleges may have to transform how they think about themselves. Organizational restructuring in two-year colleges requires the adoption of a new paradigm about the nature of community…