Educators should encourage the "small is beautiful" approach to school improvement because it mobilizes a powerful "inside out" process instrumental to organizational effectiveness. As a study of two rural Vermont high schools shows, creative ways are needed to channel and maximize innovation without dampening the dynamics of…

Early results from the Vermont Portfolio Project, which evaluated the progress of fourth and eighth graders in reading and mathematics using samples of student products, suggests that improvement is still needed in both subjects. Many factors will influence this pilot project's future direction, including availability of resources and development…