Content-driven systemic school reform emerged in recent years as a major policy alternative in the United States. Major reforms include the establishment of state curriculum frameworks, the development of student assessments, and the adoption of new textbooks tied to the curriculum frameworks. Because successful implementation of content-driven…

In the last decades, a number of states have passed legislation identifying the conditions under which state officials can and should intervene in the operation of school districts. This paper uses a grounded qualitative approach to develop a lexicon of concepts and a framework for comparing intervention laws across states. The paper analyzes the…

In the late 1980s, state and district policymakers turned their attention from the number of academic courses to the quality of the core academic content being taught in public schools. This report focuses on the development and progress of standards-based reform in 9 states and 25 districts during 1994 and 1995. The states included California,…

This report examines state-by-state child support data to determine the impact of child support legislation over the last decade. In the text portion, the report compares data provided by the states in fiscal years 1983 and 1992. It finds that while states have made some improvements over the decade, performance in many critical areas has remained…

Based on principals' own perceptions, this paper examines how the principal's role has changed, what constitutes principals' major problems or concerns, and how state and federal regulations and community pressures have affected the principal's role. The project identified and interviewed 56 public school principals for an 11-county area served by…

Strategic options for school restructuring are examined in this guidebook for Colorado educators and citizens networking in the Colorado Strategic Options Initiative. The authors are members of a group of state educators participating in the Strategic Options Network, a collaborative organization working to share research and results of their…

Since 1946, four major efforts to improve educational outcomes through shifts in governance have occurred in North Carolina. The 1989 reforms were characterized by an increase in rhetoric about local control and initiatives, teacher involvement, and school-based management. This paper surveys the last 50 years of educational reform policy in North…

This report was prepared in response to requests by Senators Specter and Kennedy for information regarding charter schools. It presents data on the following: the number of charter schools approved under state law; characteristics of charter-school instructional programs; factors for school autonomy; accountability mechanisms; and the challenges…

Information about Colorado's second year of progress toward its 1995 educational goals is summarized. Data were based on a review of progress reports submitted to the State Board of Education by individual districts. Progress in addressing each of the state goals and priority objectives is evaluated in the following areas: (1) graduation rate…

A study examined state initiatives for industry-based skill standards and credentials. Officials in 19 states were interviewed, case studies of programs in 3 states (Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Texas) were conducted, and focus group discussions were held with 25 individuals. State skill standards were generally found to be tied to broader efforts…

This document describes outcomes of the Arizona School Restructuring Pilot Project, implemented in Arizona in 1990. The project provided 11 elementary and 4 high schools, selected in a competitive grant process, with the opportunity to pilot their restructuring plans over a 4-year period (1990/91-1993/94). Data were obtained from a survey of key…

In 1993, nine states were awarded Making the Grade grants to develop financial and other strategies to foster replication of school-based health centers (SBHCs). This report details the financial strategies used by Vermont, Rhode Island, Oregon, North Carolina, New York, Maryland, Louisiana, Connecticut, and Colorado, as reported in a meeting of…

The impact of state reform initiatives on Kentucky public schools is described in this paper, with attention to financial and facility repercussions. State legislative action in 1985 established class size limitations and new certification programs, which necessitated reorganization of the middle schools. Following the Kentucky Supreme Court's…

The highlights of research conducted by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) on the state regulation of schools and districts are summarized in this report. State education regulation can be classified into three types, depending upon whether the focus is on school inputs, processes, or outputs. Based primarily on four state case…

In 1972, the Maryland Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) became law in that state. The amendment provides that "Equality of rights under the law shall not be abridged or denied because of sex." This document surveys the legislative reforms that have been enacted to implement the ERA in the 12 years following the law's ratification. It also…