The "first wave" of educational reform has applied "top-down" mandates to raise standards and ensure accountability. These reform strategies often fail because they ignore the necessity of changing people's behavior and the everyday realities confronting schools. According to 16 superintendents participating in the National…

Many recent school-reform efforts have called for increasing decision-making power at the local school level. This report examines state differences in the amount of control that public school teachers believe they have over establishing curriculum; selecting textbooks and other instructional materials; and selecting topics, content, and skills to…