In accordance with research into what makes schools effective, efforts were made to translate the findings into a school improvement project in the New York City Public Schools. The research isolated five characteristics of schools identified as effective (that is, as demonstrating for 3 years the ability to deliver basic school skills to the full…

In this report, seven programs in selected urban school districts which have been successful in building effective coalitions are identified and described. The programs discussed include: (1) the Business Operations Assistance Program (BOAP) and (2) the Memphis Rotary/Memphis Public Schools Program, both in Memphis, Tennessee; (3) the Greater…

This study follows a 1980 moratorium on group mental ability testing called by the district's superintendent when questions relating to the informational value and cost-effectiveness of the Otis Lennon Mental Ability Test (OLMA) were raised by the Oklahoma City Public School District. Criticisms of intelligence tests and relevant issues are…

Reviews educational concerns in Sri Lanka, including the dropout rate, children who have never enrolled in schools, inequalities between urban and rural schools, the elitist nature of university education, and higher education's affirmative action area quota system for the ethnic majority. (CMG)

Describes the development and implementation of New York City's School Improvement Project (SIP), a program designed to improve schools through school-based planning groups. Discusses the program structure and outcomes, and indicates that SIP schools with greater student achievement show more commitment to the SIP process. (Author/MJL)

A review of Supreme Court decisions concerning the intent standard, and an exploration of political scientists' findings concerning the nature of decision-making processes in American communities, leads to the conclusion that the standard does not place the burden of proof on those who follow policies that result in segregation. (CMG)

Master teachers working in real urban classrooms have shared their exemplary teaching practices in an After-School Pedagogical Laboratory (L-TAPL), a program for elementary students that aims to improve the achievement of urban students and the competence of their teachers. The L-TAPL enrichment program curriculum includes language arts, math,…

This paper discusses how strengthening connections between the school and its community can help to improve a school's problem solving capacity. The paper is based on data collected by the Documentation and Technical Assistance Project of the Center for New Schools (Chicago, Illinois), from observation of nine school sites which were involved in…

This paper summarizes reports of various Ohio committees and offices that have studied attendance and dropout problems and have developed strategies and recommendations for dealing with them. Those strategies and recommendations are provided along with the following: (1) a statement of the problem and its scope; (2) a list of roles and…

To address the important issue of dropouts from their schools, the Council of Great City Schools undertook a major research effort to make sense of the disparate ways in which cities keep their dropout data, and to advise various policy makers on the development of common metrics for measuring the problem. A survey of Council member schools…

The creation of a separate and unequal system of education for blacks and whites in Chicago in the 1920s and 1930s, and black responses to the situation are described and analyzed in this book. Drawing upon material from black newspapers and journals, Chicago Board of Education documents, census data, private manuscript collections, and personal…

This document discusses major issues in urban school finance. It has been developed around four major sections. First, it reviews the role of the states in urban school finance, using published materials and documents from the Education Commission of the States. Second, it discusses recent developments in urban school finance litigation dealing…

The problems of urban public schools and current reform efforts are examined in this issue of "FOCUS," a publication of the Educational Testing Service. Declining support from parents and teachers, budget cuts, declining enrollment and deficiencies in student performance in mathematics and science skills are among the problems discussed.…

Reports on a performance review of two New York City schools, one with high and one with low reading achievement scores. Recommends ways in which schools and communities can cooperate in improving inner-city schools and the education of Black children. (JLF)

Examines the organizational and managerial response by the public school bureaucracy in New York City to the problem of enrollment decline. Discussion focuses on the issues of population decline, the fiscal crisis, school closings, problems of contracting organizations, decision making techniques, and the environmental and organizational context…