When introduced a decade ago, development planning was regarded as a strategy to help (British) schools manage change. Recent evidence suggests that schools exhibiting "best practice" in development planning have transcended this usage and now employ development planning to enhance pupil achievement. This paper examines the latter,…

Summarizes results of a nationwide survey to determine secondary principals' attitudes toward selected aspects of block scheduling. All 69 participants (from 10 states) expressed full support for block scheduling. Many principals expressed concerns about student maturity, sequential course offerings, and time spent on homework. Schedule…

Benchmarks for early childhood education must provide sufficient clarity and direction, pertain to both kindergarteners and preschoolers, specify what knowledge students should be learning, be developmentally appropriate, and reflect student progress. Implementing standards requires educators to address two equally important challenges-teaching…

Describes an elementary school study that investigated how to successfully implement the Accelerated Reader program, an electronic reading management program designed to replace standard book reports and raise students' motivation to read quality literature and help them become better readers. Topics include student attitudes; teacher attitudes;…

This article discusses probable explanations for the weak effects in some meta-analyses that have investigated the effectiveness of social skills training (SST) for students with disabilities and offers specific recommendations for designing and producing more effective SST interventions. Treatment integrity issues, assessment issues, and…

A survey of local school-board chairs in North Carolina concluded that such leaders show more philosophical agreement with reform ideas (decentralization, work redesign, the student as worker, school choice, and the board chair's role) than practical knowledge of how to implement those ideas locally. (MLH)

The experiences of a group of evaluators evaluating a multisite integrated human service delivery system illustrate many design and measurement considerations in the preimplementation and implementation phases of evaluation. The reemergence of human service integration approaches will make such evaluation issues increasingly common. (SLD)

Reviews past and current school reform efforts designed to link human services with public schools. Discusses five alternative approaches for linking public schools and human services: informal relations, coordination, partnerships, collaboration, and integration. Offers suggestions for planning, training, resources, and funding necessary to…

Shortly after implementing a mandatory school uniform policy, the Long Beach (California) Public Schools can boast 99% compliance and a substantial reduction in school crime. The uniforms can't be confused with gang colors, save parents money, and help identify outsiders. A sidebar lists ingredients for a mandatory uniform policy. (MLH)

Defines a basic framework for educational strategic planning that serves both learners and society. Discusses Mega Planning's critical success factors, common planning errors, and basic elements of scoping, planning, implementation, and continuous improvement/evaluation phases. Strategic objectives should drive curriculum objectives, and these in…

An interaction of processes (e.g., design, implementation) and elements (e.g., curriculum) form a matrix for language teaching programs. The concept of stakeholders within this program matrix is elaborated: learners, teachers, administrators, and controlling authorities. A worksheet is appended. (Contains 56 references.) (Author)

Discusses teachers' perceptions of an externally imposed appraisal process at a small British special school. Examines teachers' experiences to explore whether appraisal can be a learning process enabling schools to become learning organizations. Teachers will only become conscious, competent learners if they design their tasks within a flexible,…

A British headteacher ponders a tumultuous decade in school management. The national curriculum was one major problem. There have also been radical, deleterious changes in the ways schools are funded, governed, managed, planned, and inspected; how teachers are educated; and the terms and conditions of teacher employment. Competition for pupils has…

The deficit model of assessment dominating education in postwar Britain largely disappeared in the 1970s. Inherent weaknesses of the 11-plus exam, which still survives, may explain current obsession with formative assessment. Record keeping, grading, and other difficulties with changes wrought by the 1988 Education Reform Act and the National…

Takes a critical look at various tendencies within the current generation of approaches to family literacy programs. Groups these tendencies into three broad categories: intervention prevention, multiple literacies, and social change. Notes a danger in glibly assigning any given program to one category or another. (RS)