This fall, the nine states that finished as runners up in last year's groundbreaking Race to the Top competition will have an opportunity to reapply for a grant. The winners will receive a combined $200 million to help implement the bold education reform plans they developed last year. Many of the eligible states already have clear roadmaps toward…

To assess educational needs in the Pacific region, Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) identified 9 general education areas to be examined through 47 survey items. These items were presented as a questionnaire to educators in the region served by PREL, which includes American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,…

The Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) is the most comprehensive reform legislation nationally, bringing substantial change to all levels of the educational system. A group of researchers who have spent time in schools in Kentucky and policy analysts knowledgeable about Kentucky and other state education reform efforts convened in October 1992…

This paper reports on some early findings from an assessment of the impact of mathematics and science reforms in Chicago, Illinois, Memphis, Tennessee, Miami, Florida, and El Paso, Texas. These reforms have been part of the National Science Foundation's Urban Systemic Reform program. Standards-based curriculum and instructional approaches with a…

This paper presents several brief papers about the process of systemic change. These are: (1) Step-Up-To-Excellence: A Protocol for Navigating Whole-System Change in School Districts by Francis M. Duffy; (2) The Guidance System for Transforming Education by Charles M. Reigeluth; (3) The Schlechty Center For Leadership In School Reform by Monica…

This review considers studies of large-scale systemic reform initiatives aimed at mathematics and science education, especially those undertaken by state governments and the National Science Foundation. The implementation and effects of reforms can be understood in theoretical terms applied to the study of innovation and change. (SLD)

This review of selected literature examines the National Science Foundation's standards-based systemic reform theory in the context of research reported by science, mathematics, and urban education policy experts. This review is specifically concerned with viewing evidence of relationships among identified change variables that are associated with…

Describes a plan for a professional development program in educational systems design to prepare facilitators in educational change and restructuring efforts. Highlights include roles in the change process; values and criteria for design; change strategies; emotional stages; attitudinal roadblocks; and needed competencies and skills, including…

Persuaded that quality teaching is the most important way to raise student achievement, the new leadership of the San Diego, California schools initiated a focused set of instructional reforms to "jolt" the system from bottom to top beginning in 1998. Interviews of educators at all levels of the system, district-wide surveys of…

The effects of current school reforms on teaching and learning for students at risk of educational failure were studied by examining systemic reform strategies in two large school districts, Montgomery County (Maryland) and Philadelphia (Pennsylvania). Montgomery County is implementing the "Success for Every Student" program, an…

Oregon's Educational Act for the 21st Century is a remarkably comprehensive and systematic approach to school reform. Relying on a broad partnership of business leaders, parents, teachers, and educational professionals, it calls for a shift in public attitudes, a focus on outcome-based evaluations, and efforts to ensure its compatibility with…