This paper describes the activities and experiences of a technical assistance consultant working with a superintendent and assistant superintendent to implement the Achievement Directed Leadership (ADL) school improvement program during 1981-82. The paper's first section describes the ADL program's "top-down" implementation plan, with…

Dropout prevention is emerging as the most important new issue in education. Broad demographic trends predict a continuing growth in the population of at-risk youth, those most likely to drop out of school. The overall goal of any dropout prevention activity is to reduce the number of at-risk students. This issue is devoted to what research and…

The National School Boards Association proposed to the United States Department of Education a project, "Building Character in the Public Schools," designed to enhance character development in the schools through involvement of more than 15,000 local school boards in this country. The project had two overall goals: to heighten national awareness…

Anyone who has worked as a teacher or principal in an elementary school understands the value of reliable and valid assessments of early reading progress. In order to implement an effective reading program, schools should have a coordinated plan for using screening, progress monitoring, diagnostics and outcome measures to guide instruction and to…

A study was conducted to determine whether the adult basic education environment improved the educational outlook of at-risk students. The research was conducted using a 25-question survey with 100 students enrolled in the Nicolet College Alternative High School program for at-risk students in northern Wisconsin, from January through December…

A study at a university with strong mathematics/science curricula found that at matriculation, women and men had similar high school rank, women had lower mathematics test scores; most majored in science or engineering; women had higher undergraduate degree completion rates at four years; and grade point averages differed little. (MSE)

This guide is intended for college and university administrators responsible for designing and implementing a model for assessment of student outcomes and institutional effectiveness. The first chapter explains use of the handbook and introduces the institutional effectiveness paradigm on which it is based. The second chapter explains the model…

This brochure, one in a series of four, is designed to assist program directors, teachers, and evaluators evaluate programs to encourage girls in mathematics, science, and engineering. Seven sections cover the why, the what, and some of the how of program evaluation. The first section explains why programs need to be evaluated. The second section…

This report presents an independent evaluation of E. Lang's I Have a Dream (IHAD) model intervention for disadvantaged youth as it has been implemented in three schools in the Greater Washington (District of Columbia) area. Sixty IHAD participants are randomly selected as they enter sixth or seventh grade for higher education tuition guarantees…

The Content Area Learning/Reading Project at the Cosgrove Junior High School in Spencerport, New York, was initiated in the fall of 1979. The goals of the project were to foster effective instruction in all classrooms and to promote instruction based on sound principles and practices as indicated by research and by review of successful content…

The reflective practice of principalship differs from other ways of practicing principalship by viewing the principal's problems as unique rather than as standard problems susceptible to standardized solutions. This book provides information, raises questions, and considers the complexities of school problems, all as raw material for the…

A study was initiated in 1986 to collect systematic national data on the content and processes surrounding the delivery of vocational-technical education programs that could be used to help assess and describe the dynamics of high school vocational classrooms. The national database generated contained information from schools, classrooms, school…

Findings and implications of a study of the institutional development of a sample of colleges and universities that were federally funded are summarized. The information is designed to assist personnel at the institutional level and at the developmental activity level. The study sample of 51 institutions had substantial funding through Title III…

Preparation programs for principals should have excellent academic and performance based components. In examining the nature of performance based principal preparation this report finds that school administration programs must bridge the gap between conceptual learning in the classroom and the requirements of professional practice. A number of…

The El Paso Independent School District, in an effort to reduce the dropout rate and promote academic success among Hispanics, developed a high-intensity language training (HILT) curriculum in English as a second language (ESL) for limited-English-speaking students, to prepare them for full participation in regular subject-area courses. The…