This guidebook provides evaluation assistance to district and school staff. It was published in response to the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) Program, passed by Congress in 1997 to provide incentives and support for low-performing, high-poverty schools. CSRD is an attempt to ensure that schools conduct evaluation of whole-school…

This booklet is the fourth in a series of "hot topic" reports, that address current educational concerns. The booklet examines questions relating to grade configurations, its purpose being to increase awareness and understanding of the issues surrounding grade span. It explores the ways that schools have addressed concerns associated…

This paper examines how teachers' expectations of their ability to produce student learning varies within teaching assignments. In the study described here, 359 teachers in 9 restructuring secondary schools in 1 district estimated their ability to perform common teaching tasks in 4 of the courses they expected to teach in the coming school year.…

After a period of decline, dropout rates are on the rise. Relative to students in other countries, American students do well at elementary level and later lag behind. Students are becoming more ethnically diverse. By 2010, immigrants' children are expected to account for one in five of students. In the new economy, college degrees and computer…

The Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program is a federal initiative to introduce and reinforce comprehensive reform programs in schools. The Southwest Educational Development Laboratory developed a survey to gather information from CSRD-awarded schools in the southwestern United States on their initial progress in implementing the…

Describes the program of the Hawaii Explorations Academy, a restructuring effort of Konawaena High School housed at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii. After a general description of the program, two students describe their experiences in the program. Two program administrators then discuss the role of the environment and the importance of…

A national study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education indicates that school-based reform is no guarantee of improved learning opportunities. Schools with the most promising reform efforts set attainable reform goals with long timelines; focus explicitly on particular aspects of curriculum while targeting related professional development…

Faced with government-mandated restructuring, Dutch secondary schools and universities are networking to tackle school and professional development concerns. The collegial network helps teachers interpret and influence government policies, learn from one anothers' experience, tap into external expertise, and develop new educational approaches,…

Oklahoma's answer to the cry for reform and involvement in education emerged as House Bill 1017, a comprehensive $223 million school reform and tax act. This article reviews the HR 1017 story, focusing on its legislative enactment history and offering a content analysis of mandated changes in finance, personnel, governance, student assessment,…

Distinguishes among educational reform, reconstruction, revolution, and recreation. In education, "reform" means "renewing" or "rebuilding"; "reconstruction" connotes "remodeling" or "remaking"; and revolution calls for replacing one kind of schooling with another. Recreated schools…

Presents a measurement scale specific to principals' self-efficacy in coping with change in a (Western Australian) restructuring context. Outlines the scale's psychometric properties and demonstrates its usefulness, using a series of regression equations. Self-efficacy can be a powerful mediator in understanding the reactions to change. (20…

This study assessed the extent to which teacher practical knowledge was student centered and practiced schoolwide in three high schools nationally recognized as pioneers in school restructuring. Teacher and student interviews indicated that the pedagogy practiced within the schools differed little from that of typical suburban and urban high…

In attempting to scale up restructuring efforts, the Memphis Restructuring Initiative used various strategies to acquaint schools with designs, such as inviting school leadership teams to presentations, giving schools time to research designs and narrow choices, asking schools to submit "letters of intent," and selecting 34 schools,…

The first-year global evaluations of the eight design implementations in Memphis, Tennessee, are based on syntheses of data from multiple sources. Common strengths included revitalized schools and initiation of new school organizations and teaching strategies. Common concerns include the need for more focused training, teacher collaboration time,…

W. Edwards Deming's concepts offer an integrated approach to quality schooling. Three barriers must be overcome: fear of industrial models, poor knowledge of workers and work processes, and unquestioned beliefs. Instead, educators must develop community understanding and commitment, establish business-education partnerships, and manage schools as…