Presents three addresses given at a conference at the College of St. Thomas (Minnesota) by Vincent Reed, David Frye, and Casey Banas on the priorities of American secondary education from a local perspective. Jean Dye, Neal Nickerson, and Steve Permuth respond. (WD)

This review of the literature highlights research-based ways to improve schools and classrooms. Emphasis is on student time-on-task, effective teacher behaviors, and positive teacher supervision. (JM)

Each summary of "what works" includes a statement of research findings, comments, and references. Topics addressed are the role of the teacher librarian, principal, and program coordinator; secondary school programs and facilities; impact on student achievement; continuing education; resources for students; dissemination of information;…

A review of five types of bilingual programs finds that maintenance and dual-language programs best foster bilingualism, academic achievement, and cultural pluralism, but program implementation and organization also determine effectiveness. Input from bilingual teachers indicates that building administrators must develop and communicate a clear…

Reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic, and relationships are the foundations of effective education. Of course, education is much more than that in reality, but it is clear that healthy and productive relationships play a huge part in student as well as teacher success. Teachers, administrators, and parents are all stakeholders in a child's education.…

A community school is both a place and a set of partnerships between the school and other community resources. Because community schools are premised on the comprehensive nature of student learning and development, they not only offer rigorous curriculum but also provide additional services, support, and opportunities for children, youth, their…

Difficulties and rewards in using state assessment policy to benefit both students and the state are reviewed. The questions examined in this guide will help state policy makers know the questions they should ask about whether, what, and how well students are learning. Questions were developed from four seminars in 1989, 1990, and 1991 on…

This review summarizes and analyzes the body of research on the characteristics of effective schools in addition to early input-output research, which implied that the determinants of student achievement lay chiefly outside the control of the schools. Chapter 1 discusses patterns in the results of input-output studies, including research…

To discover if there were differences in the influence-gaining behaviors of principals in schools of varying levels of instructional effectiveness, 9 of 19 urban schools involved in a school improvement project were selected for study. All the schools met the following criteria: involvement in the project for at least 1 year, employment of the…

A review of the voluminous research in the field of teaching at-risk, low achieving elementary school students yields a number of practical, validated applications for classroom teachers. At-risk students should be identified early during their formative years, and social and academic enrichment programs should be implemented as soon as possible.…

To explore themes previously identified among successful schools from the perspective of the school district, this report organizes its discussion of the nine themes developed by T.B. Corcoran and B.L. Wilson (1986) around the role of the central office administration and the ways in which it might cooperate with schools in supporting secondary…

The 11 items in this annotated bibliography are entries in the ERIC system concerning studies of school effectiveness and the debate surrounding how much influence schools have over student learning. Several articles included reexamine the 1966 Coleman report, and one compares a more recent Coleman report with the earlier report. A number of…

This guide is intended to be a practical primer to help education leaders meet the daily challenges of school leadership. It shows how to include leadership in an integrated system of educational accountability, teaching, and curriculum for student achievement; how to do away with ineffective, obsolete, and unnecessary practices; and how to…

This collection of papers focuses on the preparation of teachers by university-based education programs. The papers are: "The STEPS That Support P-12 Learning and Achievement" (Diana Rigden), which describes the Standards-based Teacher Education Project (STEP) for improving student learning; "The Responsibility for Assessing Beginning Teachers"…

Knowledge of student development theory has direct practical benefits for the college financial aid administrator. Developmental theories of Arthur Chickering and William Perry provide expectations for student behavior and suggest interventions for these aid-related areas: monitoring academic progress; student employment; student debt counseling;…