This paper focuses on the challenges that states face as they implement the accountability provisions of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, particularly those related to the identification and assistance of schools in need of improvement. Studies are underway that examine the implementation of some NCLB sanctions, such as the supplemental…

In fall 2002, three large traditional high schools in Chicago, Illinois, started a conversion process that opened five new small schools. In partnership with Mills College, the Consortium on Chicago School Research designed a short-term, interview-based study to provide a snapshot of these new small schools in their first year of planning and…

The effectiveness of the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), North Carolina, plan to reduce class size was evaluated, assessing program implementation and the effects of class size reduction on academic achievement. For the 1999-2000 school year, North Carolina received federal funds targeting class size reduction under the Class Size…

This report is an evaluation of the pilot year of Project Achieve, a major local instructional initiative at six elementary schools and two middle schools in the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), North Carolina, that was designed to help reach the WCPSS goal of 95% of students at or above grade level. Participating schools had a higher…

A review of recent studies shows that although significant advances have been made in assessing the degree of implementation of Project Follow Through (a developmental/experimental project), evaluations have not systematically accounted for implementation data. Such data measure the contextual and strategic influences on implementation and would…

A Louisville elementary school has a brighter future, thanks to the Kentucky Education Reform Act. Kennedy School's reform efforts predated the 1990 state law, but teachers and administrators credit KERA with providing appropriate resources and a psychic push toward success. Although the school suffered a performance drop in 1996, it has made vast…

Describes how 16 superintendents spurred district reform efforts by creating a positive environment through a four-step process: establishing trust, planning the district's future, communicating their vision effectively, and following through. An inset provides advice to other change-oriented superintendents. (MLH)

Successful implementation of technology education requires a knowledge of the change process. Statewide curriculum change involves the teachers and administrators as well as students, parents, and other community groups. Rogers' model of the change process in organizations provides a framework for approaching this complex task. (JOW)

Presents a conceptual framework intended to indicate the need to consider curriculum implementation, staff development, and evaluation as integrally linked in the curriculum change process and to reinforce the idea of involving teachers meaningfully. (RS)

Describes parents' involvement in implementing a basic-schools initiative that integrates proven best research-based practices for elementary education. Data from individual and focus-group interviews and participant observations show that school personnel and parents engaged in traditional involvement methods as a foundation to involvement in…

The 1998 Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program provides $120 million for Title I schools and an additional $25 million for all public schools. Almost 3,000 schools are receiving $50,000 each to implement schoolwide models listed and explained in this article. Challenges and funding tips are discussed. (Contains 13 references.) (MLH)

A parent objected to a district's replacement of the gifted pull-out program with gifted-talented clusters in regular classrooms. Teachers would be trained to work with special-needs students, but not to differentiate curricula for advanced students. He agreed to advance his daughter a grade, but deplores reforms' transitional effects. (MLH)

Implementation of the Core Knowledge Sequence in 12 various schools across the United States is evaluated. Interviews and focus groups with teachers and principals reveal the nature of the reform program, local context, systemic and policy level forces, and the capacity for change impact on the implementation process. (MMU)

In 2004, South Charlotte Middle School (SCMS), Charlotte, North Carolina, was named "A School to Watch" by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform. One of the program components cited as highly successful by the visiting committee representing the Forum was the provision of an enrichment period called the ninth block. Ninth…

Implementation of the curriculum-centered, standards-based federally mandated reform, No Child Left Behind, has placed pressure on teachers, particularly those working in schools comprised of highly diverse and impoverished students, to have their students attain predetermined levels on high stakes, standardized tests. When schools have not met…