This volume features original studies and research syntheses on educational effectiveness and efficiency and serves to clarify what is known about effective public schools. It concerns educational conditions, policies, and practices with an eye toward student achievement, especially that of children living in poverty. Thirteen chapters include: (1) "Early Childhood Education" (W. Steven Barnett); (2) "Class-Size Reduction in Grades K-3" (Jeremy D. Finn); (3) "Small Schools" (Craig Howley); (4) "Time for School: Its Duration and Allocation" (Gene V. Glass); (5) "Grouping Students for Instruction" (Gene V. Glass); (6) "Parental and Family Involvement in Education" (Douglas B. Downey); (7) "Public Schools and Their Communities" (Catherine Lugg); (8) "Teacher Characteristics" (Gene V. Glass); (9) "Converging Findings on Classroom Instruction" (Barak Rosenshine); (10) "Teacher Unions and Student Achievement" (Robert M. Carini; (11) "Value-Added Assessment of Teachers: The Empirical Evidence" (Haggai Kupermintz); (12) "Professional Development" (Ulrich C. Reitzug); and (13) "Charter Schools, Vouchers, and EMOs" (Gerald W. Bracey). Each chapter concludes with a bibliography. (RT)