The purpose of this paper is to review and critique a groundbreaking research report. The research article under review in this paper is: "A Big Apple for Educators: New York City's Experiment with Schoolwide Performance Bonuses: Final Evaluation Report" (see ED521920). In 2007-08, a program called the Schoolwide Performance Bonus…

Reviews the book, "Within Our Reach: Breaking the Cycle of Disadvantage," which takes a new look at research about and programs for disadvantaged young children and their parents. (BB)

This handbook of family support and education programs profiles 73 programs that highlight an array of service arrangements under school sponsorship. The handbook asserts that no one factor makes or breaks a program and that all facets of program development contribute to the degree of success. (SLD)

"The Future of Schools" (1998), by Australia's former Minister of Education Don Hayward and Professor Brian J. Caldwell, recounts the development, implementation, and early effects of a far-reaching change effort. The authors'"lessons" are undercut by insufficient data connecting the reform with improved teaching and learning.…

Identifies strengths and weaknesses of the study of the Comprehensive Child Development Program and draws evaluative conclusions based on the analysis. Cites lack of stakeholder involvement and pilot studies as a weaknesses of the evaluation but notes the general quality of the effort. (SLD)

This rebuttal provides a more complete description of the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative than the previous article, describes the Program Improvement Review process in more detail and outlines its role in the overall project, and provides data that supports the program's overall effectiveness. (Author/SLD)

Reviews "Fair Start for Children," (Mary Larner and others), book summarizing efforts and effects of seven projects funded by the Ford Foundation in diverse communities in the United States during the early 1980s. The projects, part of the Child Survival/Fair Start network, addressed issues related to infant health among low-income…

Describes Ellsworth and Ames' edited book as an eclectic collection including historical, ethnographic, autobiographical, empirical, and self-reflective texts. Maintains that although the book is an important contribution to the literature by placing current practices into historical and social context, thereby leading to a more critical view of…

Charles Murray's book, "Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950-1980," proposes the abolition of benefit programs for all working-aged persons for the following reasons: (1) it is logically impossible for the government to aid the poor by creating incentives for people to become poor; (2) since the mid-1960s the United States has so…

Reviews two books: (1) "The Nursery World of Dr. Blatz," by Jocelyn Matcher Raymond, describing W. E. Blatz's accomplishments in early childhood education (ECE); and (2) "Early Education: The Current Debate," by Joyce Watt, examining the purpose and effectiveness of ECE with respect to children, parents, communities, services, and curricula. (AC)

In this study, Ridgway et al. found mixed results, depending on the assessment test used. With the Balanced Assessment (BA) test, positive significant differences were found between the Connected Mathematics Project (CMP) students and non-CMP students in grades 6, 7, and 8. The results for the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) were less favorable…

Of the four guides to schoolwide reform models (by Herman and others, Northwest Regional Education Laboratory, Robert Slavin, and Margaret Wang and associates), Herman's volume provides the most detailed, scholarly review. Practical information abounds, but more well-controlled and designed longitudinal studies are essential. (Contains 32…

Schneider found no statistically significant differences between the intervention and comparison groups on the school-level Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) analyzed in the study. The findings may have been affected by only three schools implementing more than one-third of the total math problems in each year and grade. In addition, the…

The focus in this book is on steering a course between rigorous definitions and theory and applied attempts to measure costs and benefits in the real world. As an introduction to the concepts underlying cost-benefit analysis, this volume is well-written and comprehensive for a book of its length. (SLD)

This evaluation was designed to compare student achievement scores of students enrolled in Saxon Algebra 1/2 classrooms (intervention group) with students enrolled in Scott-Foresman Mathematics classrooms (comparison group). Crawford and Raia conducted three analyses, but this study report focuses on the strongest analysis of the three and…