Discusses implementation of the Literacy Hour in small rural schools in England. Notes that the study supports evidence from national United Kingdom data that progress in literacy was made during the first year in which the Literacy Hour was operative. Shows that reading scores provide only a partial picture and that progress in writing may be…

By 1993, New York City's multicultural and innovative Children of the Rainbow curriculum had been discontinued and the education chancellor fired. This article examines the curriculum's development and implementation and the controversies surrounding it. After-effects linger, as other U.S. districts address various social issues in the school…

Propositions about what works in program evaluation are presented: (1) evaluators should be involved from the beginning; (2) evaluation should be based on explicit programmatic theory; (3) quasi-experimental designs must have high internal validity; and (4) evaluators must combat the deterioration of experimental control that occurs in…

Describes design and implementation of the outreach and dissemination approach used by the National Center on Education in the Inner Cities, with emphases on building on existing structures for information dissemination, training, and technical support for research utilization. Application of the Model of Outreach and Utilization was guided by two…

The national education goals developed during the historic 1989 Education Summit became the springboard for several federal initiatives, including the National Science Education Standards. The Standards define levels of understanding and abilities that all students should develop and recognize that many groups, including principals, share…

Describes treatment activities at the Boys Town Emergency Shelter Program for runaway and homeless youths. An examination of data collected from 100 shelter users indicated a high number of teaching interactions between staff and youths high levels of youth satisfaction with the staff; and a low frequency of youth disruptive behaviors in the…

Discusses 13 books for teachers that describe the what, how, and why of literature-based instruction in a variety of classrooms across the country. (SR)

Guilford County (North Carolina) Schools, a newly consolidated district, trained principals to become better evaluators of teachers' performance and develop individually tailored instructional improvement strategies. Project H.E.L.P. (Helping Evaluators Lift Performance) improved many teachers' effectiveness and trimmed 134 substandard performers…

Documents local variability in response to state-mandated reform in Maryland and illustrates the challenges of implementing centralized policy as an educational improvement tool. Discusses a longitudinal project exploring student and staff experience at five diverse high schools. Advises improvement-minded state-level policymakers to be more…

Describes and analyzes a training program for school support agents carried out in Madrid, Spain, from 1990 to 1992. Explores the institutional, cultural, and personal factors influencing program implementation. Addresses problems involved in reconstructing the theory and practice of external support through inservice training of school support…

Short-term fixes may boost test scores without improving learning. Schools focused on higher standards and instructional reform should reorganize and condense state, district, and national standards; adopt a "less is more" approach; support collaborative improvement efforts; and link assessment to a high-quality learning environment.…

Examines the implementation of educational assessment policy in the United States, England, and Wales from the perspectives of power, what educators need to learn, and legitimacy. Findings suggest that assessment policy is useful for promoting easily observable changes, but not for deep modifications of teaching practice. (SLD)

Restructuring programs and reallocating resources (to smaller classes, teacher planning, professional development, and tutors for struggling students) constitute a complex, large-scale change process. Steps include recognizing the need for change, evaluating strategies, and creating a new educational strategy for all organizational levels. (MLH)

Abolition of the probationary year for British teachers in 1991 was short-lived, with new requirements for setting induction standards, monitoring performance, administering assessment, and deregistering new teachers introduced in the 1998 Teaching and Higher Education Act. A more imaginative and reality-based alternative is needed. (Contains 94…

Discusses the benefits of school uniforms in fulfilling the educational objectives of middle school reform. Considers the role of uniforms in establishing student affiliation with the school and in adolescent development. Describes the development of a uniform program and notes issues of cost and legality. (JPB)