The Illinois State Board of Education partnered with two outside groups, the National Computational Science Alliance (NCSA) and the North Central Regional Technology in Education Center (NCRTEC), to provide staff development, along with technological software, hardware, and support, to improve 6th graders' performance in the areas of mathematics,…

This publication shares highlights from the Eisenhower Professional Development Evaluation Conference, also introducing the upcoming Improving America's Schools (IAS) Conferences. The Eisenhower conference focused on improving content knowledge and instructional practice through effective professional development. The IAS conference will examine…

Federal and state educational indicator systems should include assessments of school context as well as of student outcomes. A review of the literature suggests that access to knowledge, pressure for achievement, and professional teaching conditions are the best general constructs to provide bases for school context indicators. (TJH)

Helping teachers decide the critical point when a young child is ready to learn and the appropriate strategy to use with that child is the crux of this successful program. Scaffolding Early Literacy is helping close the learning gap between higher-performing students and minority, special needs, and low socioeconomic students. (Contains 3…

This report culminates a 2-year effort of the Regents Task Force on Teaching. During the 2 years, the Task Force met many times, conducted eight public forums around the state, conferred with various constituents and public officials, consulted with national experts, and surveyed the literature and experiences of other states. This report presents…

A group of three conference papers, all dealing with ways to improve teacher effectiveness, is presented in this document. The first paper, "Improving Teacher Effectiveness" (Twyla Stewart), describes the efforts of the Center for Academic Interinstitutional Programs at the University of California, Los Angeles. The program focuses on…

In response to a low passing rate in a general psychology course taught at Howard Community College (MD), as well as to student and instructor dissatisfaction with the course, a systems model was developed and applied to improve course quality. The development of the model involved nine steps: (1) enumerating precise skill objectives which could…

The optimum situation for a school system is one in which bureaucratic influences and practices support classroom learning. The study reported in this policy brief examines a transformation toward this state of affairs in the country's eighth largest school district, the 140,000-student San Diego City Schools. An unusual leadership arrangement…

This study examined whether the Chicago Annenberg Challenge promoted improvement in schools it supported and in student achievement and other outcomes; factors that might explain improvement or lack thereof among Annenberg schools; and what could be learned from the Challenge's experiences. It highlighted the period between 1996-1997 through…

This publication presents essays by members of Restructuring for Urban Student Success (RUSS) and other faculty, administrators, staff, and graduate students on participating campuses. The essays describe the work of RUSS and document curricular restructuring and reform efforts occurring at RUSS partner institutions. Part 1 includes essays by RUSS…

Describes the position of Specialist in Continuing Education (SCE) developed by the Cooperative Educational Research Laboratory, Inc. The SCE conducts seminars with small groups of teachers engaged in self-assessment and professional growth. Seminars focus on teachers finding their own solutions to their problems and on professional…

A discussion of recent trends in state educational reform stresses the importance of addressing two challenges: teaching all students higher order thinking and developing more systematic, coherent policies. The article describes the challenges, examines how state policies in the 1980s addressed them and how districts responded, and suggests future…

Describes Connecticut's ongoing school reform efforts, which began around 1985. The reform process involves creating, supporting, and revising a coherent set of policies for improving teacher learning that are also aligned with standards for students. Planning includes state department staff in collaboration with teachers and principals. The state…

This document provides case histories that illustrate school district acccomplishments in utilizing Title I funds for improving the educational quality of economically and educationally disadvantaged children. The focus is on staff quality and utilization, and the case histories provide a source of ideas for local school districts who wish to…

Edvantia, Inc. (formerly AEL) publishes "TransFormation" twice a year to provide policymakers with interpretive summaries of significant reports and rigorous studies about school transformation, giving special attention to research with possible implications for improving low-performing schools.This final print issue of…