The methodological parameters of evaluative research studies help to identify a conceptualization of the phenomenon under investigation. Holistic critiques that identify the conceptual models under which the research was conducted shed light on the validity of the disparate inferences made from a number of studies of schools and school…

Of all the factors that schools control, teacher quality is the one that most affects student achievement (Darling-Hammond, 2000). In fact, researcher Eric Hanushek (2002) found the difference in annual student achievement growth between a student taught by an effective teacher and one taught by an ineffective teacher can be as much as one…

This paper discusses the work of the Education Trust and other teams of researchers and school leaders. If focuses on one symposium on and five research studies of high-performing, high-poverty schools. The six studies provided information about best practices in school leadership, organization, and instruction. Building on scholarship from the…

Over the past two decades, America has embarked on a campaign to improve public schools for all our nation's children. Educators have turned their focus to the outcomes of schooling. The Committee for Economic Development (CED) has urged such reforms, and this report concentrates on the need to link the way schools are funded and managed to the…

Since the early 1980's, the primary institutional mission of Mount Hood Community College (MHCC) in Gresham, Oregon, has been identified as student success. Toward that end, the college has instituted an ongoing systematic review of instructional program improvement and implemented institutional strategic planning directly linked to budget…

This book provides over 300 summaries of joint-venture programs between secondary and postsecondary schools. The overall purpose of the partnership programs is to improve the chances for at-risk students to graduate from high school and have a successful college experience. The main portion of the book is divided into four parts, each focusing on…

This issue highlights findings of Marshall S. Smith and Jennifer O'Day's "Educational Equality 1966: Then and Now," a chapter of "The 1990 American Education Finance Association Yearbook: Spheres of Justice in Education," edited by Deborah A. Verstegen and James G. Ward. The "Brief" first focuses on educational trends over the past quarter…

The study identified possibilities for improving farm incomes on limited-resource farms in eastern Kentucky. Objectives were to describe farm operations of full-time Appalachian farmers who had gross sales of less than $5,000 in 1972, estimate potential increases in net farm incomes from given resources, and identify nonresource constraints on…

Although the general thrust of recent education reports and studies--to strengthen the academic quality of secondary education--has been salutary, efforts fall short of giving clear direction for school improvement in a number of areas particularly important to urban school superintendents. The reports fail to recognize the unique context of urban…

A MODEL INTENDED TO PREDICT THE RELATIVE COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF ALTERNATIVE EDUCATIONAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS WITHIN THE SAME SCHOOL-COMMUNITY SETTING IS DEVELOPED. THE MODEL IS AN ATTEMPT TO AID IN DECISIONS CONCERNING ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMS OF TITLE I OF THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965. COSTS ARE ESTIMATED FROM BUDGET ALLOCATIONS.…

This study examines the politics of program implementation in Michigan. It focuses on relations between the Michigan Department of Education and the state's local school districts in the administration of state aid for compensatory education. With its accountability emphasis and with the many administrative issues that have characterized its…

Little agreement exists on which school expenditures and resources are most likely to improve student resources or whether resources really matter at all. This study compiles a national database of school finance information and analyzes the data to address the importance of school expenditures. Data were collected from the National Assessment of…

The rural school project of the continental United States consists in educating over 18 million young people between the ages of 5 and 20 who live in small towns and villages, or in the open country. The 300,000 or more schools classified as rural enrolled nearly 12.5 million pupils in 1920, employed 425,00 teachers, supervisors, and principals,…

Outlines disparities in educational access, proposing reforms for equalizing opportunities to learn and examining social and economic challenges; reducing achievement gaps; inequality and achievement; the influence of funding on achievement (particularly among African American students); what matters in teaching (e.g., access to quality teaching,…

This volume addresses the feasibility of operating small schools as the mainstay of the public school system. Research evidence indicates that small schools are associated with better student outcomes and that they make personal attention, academic focus, and experiential curricula possible. The premise that small schools are more expensive has…