This study evaluated the effect of training on improving the reliability of the peer review process by determining whether or not training made a difference in the variability among reviewers' scores and documentation provided to support the scores. Different levels of training were provided for participants in the peer review process who were…

This report is the final evaluation of the State Dissemination Grants Program (SDGP), a major initiative within the mission of the National Institute of Education (NIE) to assist state education agencies in implementing, strengthening, and institutionalizing dissemination services that improve educational practice and equity. The multi-year…

This Workshop Leader's Guide contains step-by-step procedures for preparing, organizing, and presenting 1-hour and 3-hour workshops on estimation in mathematics. It was designed to assist Technical Assistance Center staff members and other inservice providers in conducting successful workshops on estimation in mathematics for administrators,…

This book was written for use in university courses and inservice programs directed toward the improvement of secondary education. Part I contains an introduction and overview of an improvement design, including descriptions of proposals that have been made for school improvement, and experiences of school practitioners in improvement programs. In…

This document contains the proceedings of a two-day forum held in North Carolina that was designed to give individuals in education, government, and business, who would be involved in implementing the recommendations of the Carnegie Task Force, the opportunity to freely analyze and debate the teaching profession. The first address was presented by…

This paper describes two recent seminars for exemplary K-12 public school teachers from North Carolina held at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT). A discussion is presented on the program's rationale. The seminars are examined in the light of the framework of an article on four conceptions of excellence: (1)…

The Milpitas Unified School District's efforts to utilize information on school effectiveness and improvement research are reported. The first section gives a historical perspective on the district's activities in the area of implementing the school effectiveness research. This is followed by a discussion of the assessment and planning process…

Focusing upon the importance of the overall school climate, and viewing school improvement from a cultural perspective, this document presents a report on the first year of a study of culture and cultural processes involved in improving the effectiveness of high schools. The first section discusses the year's three major activities undertaken to…

A report is given of a study conducted on the nature and extent of support that local school systems in Maryland currently provide to new teachers. The study had two components: a statewide survey and case studies of promising programs. The survey polled Associate or Assistant Superintendents of Instruction in 23 of Maryland's 24 county school…

It is suggested in this paper that practical arguments can be used in teacher education and staff development programs to introduce teachers to research-based practices. Practical arguments consist of three types of premises--value, empirical, and situational--that conclude with an action, or an intention to act. Such arguments are a useful way to…

Achievements of the Building Our American Communities Program (BOAC), initiated in 1971 to provide a vehicle for Future Farmers of America members to make direct contributions to their communities and to practice good citizenship and develop leadership skills, are summarized in this 1985 annual report. the report begins with messages from…

Although useful for any community development planning team, this handbook is designed to assist Future Farmers of America chapter committees in coordinating Building Our American Communities (BOAC) projects. Ten steps for successful chapter participation in the BOAC program are outlined. These steps include selecting the BOAC committee and…

Preliminary lessons emerging from five case studies contained in a larger study on improving urban high schools are explored in this report. An eclectic approach was taken to describe the contextual influences in and around the school improvement programs. Potential variables were selected from previous research to frame the investigation and site…

The concept of a functional "we" in a school setting and the idea that people who make up a school community relate school experiences and interpret school phenomena in the form of organizational "stories" provide the theoretical bases for a model to initiate strategies for school development and improvement. The functional "we" concept refers to…

The School Improvement Model project, a total systems approach to evaluating and improving instruction, will be fully implemented by 1983-84. The project includes four components: teacher performance evaluation, administrator performance evaluation, student achievement measurement, and staff development. Five school districts in Minnesota and Iowa…