To compile information on state and school district standardized testing programs, a survey instrument was designed and sent to 135 members of the National Association of Test Directors (NATD). Seventy responses (52%) were received in time to be included in the compilation. Most participating school districts (n=61, 87%) had a program mandated by…

This project was the result of a three year collaboration between the New York Urban Coalition and Intermediate School 162, Bronx, New York. Concerns addressed included institutional development, collaborative planning and implementation, school form and process, and technical assistance strategies. Intermediate School 162 was selected for…

To assess structural coupling in schools, investigators must first have measures with established reliability and validity levels. Structural coupling refers to the mechanisms and norms in organizations that influence interactions among individuals. For three structural coupling measurement techniques--participant observation, interviews, and…

This report describes a study of two small-to-middle-sized midwestern school districts, each observed for about one year. The aim was to clarify the nature of the organizational form of school systems and to examine the organizational processes, using qualitative rather than quantitative methods. Two central concerns of the study were to explore…

Stanford's Environment for Teaching study involved analysis of data collected in 1973 and 1975 by questionnaire and interview from 188 principals and over 200 teachers from a stratified sample of 46 elementary schools drawn from 34 San Francisco Bay Area school districts. Using aggregate indices, the study examined data relating school complexity…

A questionnaire surveying a 5 percent sample of Ontario's schools attempted to evaluate how declining enrollment is affecting principals and vice-principals in their relationships with staff, students, community, colleagues, trustees, and superiors, as well as in their personal lives. Analysis of the data reveals that there is generally more…

The goal of Individually Guided Education (IGE) is to produce high student achievement in terms of understanding, skills, and action patterns in various curricular areas, and to contribute to the healthy personal, social, ethical, and civic development of each student. A secondary goal is to promote higher job satisfaction in the school teaching…

Evaluations by school district research and evaluation units have minimal impact, because they do not meet the realities of school district decision making. School districts are loosely coupled systems that do not respond to centralized planning or evaluations, particularly if findings are unfavorable. To maximize utilization of their findings,…

This book concerns the experience of the author during two years (1966-68) as director of an Upward Bound program, which has the goal of helping poverty high school students gain admission to college. "Within two years I was to experience the immense satisfaction of sharing in a collaborative community of inquiry that was demonstrably…

Students who neither cause problems nor display giftedness tend to receive little attention in high schools. Research findings from thousands of observations in fifteen high schools suggest that the varied curricula that support special students allow average students to drift through school. Schools must be restructured to motivate average…

This paper examines how to encourage widespread adoption of comprehensive school-reform models--adoption outside the schools and districts that took part in the development process. It refers to such models as "design-based" schools. The paper defines what is meant by a school design and describes receptive school and district…

This paper explores the "working culture" of faculty members at a Teacher Education School in Brazil. The study analyzes the teacher educators' values, feelings, and everyday practices. The main objective of the study was to rethink the school organization by taking into consideration the cultural and symbolic practices that organize…

Includes responses to an earlier issue's symposium on computers in the classroom. Bredo focuses on different levels of learning environments. Winn and Coleman discuss urban and rural schools. Cuban contends that introduction of new technologies cannot lead to educational reform without organizational changes. LaFrenz and Friedman emphasize the…

Investigates the relationship between school environment and science classroom environment in secondary schools. Reports that the characteristics of the school environment are not transmitted automatically into the science classroom. Concludes that the effect the school-level environment has on student learning is mediated by classroom process…

When school organizational processes were measured (including a survey of 2,800 students) for 12 career ladder schools, the Missouri program demonstrated a positive impact on teachers and schools. Survey results from 100 teachers indicate that work-redesign efforts of the program have differential effects on teachers with various experience…