Background/Context: Despite the surge in efficacy studies, a recent meta-analysis indicates that the relative effectiveness of any two math interventions is largely unknown (Nelson & McMaster, 2019). Additionally, policy makers rarely choose educational programs based on an assessment of costs and cost-effectiveness (Hollands et al., 2016;…

This research is an examination of the instructional leadership practices of effective rural superintendents who oversee school districts in small, rural school districts in the most northern New England states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The study looked at the successful leadership practices of school district superintendents who have…

SuccessMaker mathematics is an instructional learning system rooted in behaviorist instructional theory. Previous research efforts have left much to be desired and have produced inconsistent results. Recent research for this program appears to be tapering off, despite advances in technology signaling integration of concepts from other theoretical…

This systematic review of the relationships between principal characteristics and student achievement was created for educators, administrators, policy-makers, and other individuals interested in a comprehensive catalogue of research on relations between principal characteristics and student achievement. It synthesizes what is known about…

Randomized experiments are often considered the strongest designs to study the impact of educational interventions. Perhaps the most prevalent class of designs used in large scale education experiments is the cluster randomized design in which entire schools are assigned to treatments. In cluster randomized trials (CRTs) that assign schools to…

Today's education policy places a high priority on improving teacher quality and teaching effectiveness in U.S. schools. Standards-based professional learning requires teachers to have deep subject knowledge and the most effective pedagogy for teaching the subject. States and school districts are charged with establishing teacher professional…

The 2001 renewal of the United States' Title I program instituted the Supplemental Educational Services (SES) program, through which students attending schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) for 3 consecutive years are offered tutoring in core subjects. Although some SES evaluations have measured provider effects on student…

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of building principals toward superintendent leadership responsibilities and practices of goal setting, nonnegotiable goals for achievement and instruction, board alignment with support of district goals, monitoring goals for achievement and instruction, use of resources to support the…

For the thirty-eighth time, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

The past two decades have seen an emerging trend in urban school governance: mayors taking the reins of school district leadership. The impetus for putting the mayor in charge of a city's schools usually stems from at least one of the following being documented or generally perceived about an urban school district: (1) Lack of accountability; (2)…

To determine the influence of district superintendents on student achievement and the characteristics of effective superintendents, Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) conducted a meta-analysis of research on the influence of school district leaders on student performance. This study examined findings from 27 studies…

This study is the latest in a series of meta-analyses that Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) has conducted over the past several years to determine the characteristics of effective schools, leaders, and teachers. This most recent meta-analysis examines findings from 27 studies conducted since 1970 that used rigorous,…

Background: School leaders argue that to make the improvements in both quality and equity that government mandates demand, they need more flexibility with regard to personnel management--specifically, teacher assignment. According to some, such flexibility is constrained by collective bargaining between teachers unions and school districts.…

In reviewing research from three successive research studies in one school district in Ontario, Canada, I trace the influence of leadership on the building of capacity in schools and the district. In so doing, it has become clear that the style of leadership has shifted to a more distributed approach, in which more teachers are becoming engaged in…

Educational software makers are often rebuffed by educational authorities, whose endorsements could lead to governmental stamps of approval, and thus explosive sales. But they usually get warmer receptions in the offices of the nation's school superintendents, who are, after all, their primary customers. The system was not supposed to work this…