From time to time critics of the middle level publish works that suggest that our philosophy is too much "feeling good" and not enough academic substance. Confusing this debate is the current trend of districts (especially large urban ones) to reconfigure their schools to K-8 neighborhood schools. In this article the author takes a long look at…

As part of its school restructuring work with states, the National Governors' Association commissioned the Center for Policy Research on Education to conduct case studies of several local school districts experimenting with new structural arrangements. This case study is based on visits to four such districts: Jefferson County Schools (Louisville,…

A PLANNED APPROACH TO EDUCATIONAL CHANGE FOCUSES UPON THE INTERNAL FUNCTIONING OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. RESEARCH GENERALIZATIONS INDICATING CONDITIONS WHICH INFLUENCE LEARNING ARE CITED AS A BASIS FOR A CONCEPTUAL MODEL. FROM THIS MODEL, SOME ORGANIZATIONAL FUNCTIONS WHICH NEED TO BE DEVELOPED WITHIN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM ARE DERIVED. FIVE LEVELS OF…

Summaries of several national surveys of middle schools and the current status of middle schools in several States, along with general conclusions. (Author)

In Connecticut programs and services vary greatly from district to district; these variations are caused mainly by wide disparities in local tax contributions that affect state aid distribution. This study shows a marginal relationship among some selected financial variables and organizational health characteristics of randomly selected high…

This statewide study identified an association between the relative integration of instructional technology departments and information services departments with indicators of high technology performance in school districts. Discusses cultural integration between the two subcultures of information services and instructional technology, types of…

Working in tandem with the powerful National Education Association's KEYS initiative (Keys to Excellence in Your Schools), this second edition focuses on how to change a school's organizational structure and culture to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Each chapter, revised and updated to address continuous improvement and narrowing…

A study examined the influence of differences in school district organization on internal school organizational processes that are central to reform strategies, such as teacher cooperation and instructional leadership. Data were obtained from interviews conducted with the principals of 98 Tennessee elementary schools that participated in the…

This paper describes a structure for assessing the school evaluation use process developed from a longitudinal case study of districtwide and school level evaluation procedures in a large urban school district. Two fundamental questions guided the study: (1) Why isn't the evaluation process more useful to decision-makers and practitioners? and (2)…

Discusses the development of comprehensive education in Russia with the focus on the comparison of ordinary versus specializing comprehensives. (RK)

Presents a reply on a previously written article on school district organization and student achievement along with a further rebuttal by the authors of the article. (Author/AM)

The literature on decentralization focuses on exchange of power and school reform. Rather than uncovering details of organizational processes, researchers attempted to impose inappropriate models upon them. Unable to explain how decentralization happens, they judged the process unsuccessful. Decentralization remains to be studied and understood.…