This survey includes programs that are designed for elementary and high school students and which (1) refrain from "institutionalized coercion," (2) de-emphasize traditional curriculum, (3) eliminate dependence on competition and encourage authentic self-motivation, (4) emphasize individual abilities and character rather than formal training in the recruitment of teachers, and (5) eliminate rigid age and grade level separation of students. Based on these criteria, 346 private schools are included, 38 of which were accorded site visits and/or telephone interviews. The body of this report centers around five topics: (1) descriptions, models, and growth of alternative schools; (2) growth patterns, developmental phases, and survival rates; (3) conventional functions of unconventional schools and their programs, governance, finances, and legal positions; (4) the future of alternative schools and their impact on conventional schools and communities. Three appendixes provide data on alternative schools, names of the schools visited and contacted, and a selected bibliography. (For related document, see ED 058 473.) (Author/MLF)