The premises of this 2-year study are: first, what teachers know and can do is the most important influence on what students learn; second, recruiting, preparing, and retaining good teachers is the central strategy for improving our schools; and third, school reform cannot succeed unless it focuses on creating conditions in which teachers can…

This issue paper summarizes key program elements in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act (P.L. 103-227), signed into law on March 31, 1994. The legislation, designed to codify the eight National Education Goals, authorizes funds for K-12 school improvement and establishes a framework to encourage state and local educational agencies to develop…

Part 1 of this paper reviews major research findings on the relationship of teacher characteristics to student achievement. Of the 16 teacher variables analyzed, those identified as important to student performance are teacher certification, ability and achievement, experience, inservice training, expectations for students, and methods. Policy…

The Department of Public Instruction is actively involved in efforts to improve the school experience and educational outcomes in Wisconsin. Chapter 1, "What Are the Characteristics of Successful Schools?" examines the seven characteristics of successful schools, which describe the school environment, goals, and management strategies and…

This document offers many of the insights and comments of Maryland elementary school teachers who scored the 1992 Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) tests. The MSPAP covers reading, writing, social studies, mathematics, and science and is administered to students in grades 3, 5, and 8. The document contains the teachers' most…

This document offers many of the insights and comments of Maryland elementary school teachers who scored the 1993 Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) tests. The MSPAP covers reading, writing, social studies, mathematics, and science and is administered to Maryland students in grades 3, 5, and 8. Comments and observations are…

Since 1987, more than 1,100 high schools in 35 states have adopted the High Schools That Work (HSTW) improvement design. The effectiveness of selected school and classroom practices included in the HSTW design was analyzed to identify implications for federal policy, the conditions that improve students' chances for success, and practices that…

The push for higher academic standards has resulted in an increase in the numbers of high school students needing extra help. The need for extra help is most pervasive in high-poverty areas and most high school students need extra help not in traditional basic elementary skills but in reading, mathematics, and advanced reasoning skills. Most…