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Clearinghouse on Educational Policy and Management
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| College of Education · University of Oregon |
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Trends and Issues: School Reform
Policy Reports and RecommendationsEJ662196 UD524258 Absent from School: Educational Policy and Comprehensive Reform. Author: Johnston, Bill J. Availability: Journal Citation: Urban Review, v34 n3 p205-30 Sep 2002 Publication Date: 2002 ISSN: 0042-0972 Language: English Document Type: Journal articles (080); Reports--Descriptive (141) Journal Announcement: CIJJUN2003 Abstract: Reviews recent federal policy alignment initiatives, discussing the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) grants program and noting North Carolina's general policy environment. Uses evaluation data from North Carolina schools receiving CSRD grants to suggest that initial school efforts are marked by two significant absences: the absence of comprehensive design perspectives to guide improvement efforts and the absence of critical analysis during application of improvement models. (Contains references.) (SM) Descriptors: *Educational Change; Educational Improvement; *Educational Policy; Elementary Secondary Education; Federal Legislation; State Legislation EJ659153 EA540306 How Can Title I Improve Achievement? Author: Borman, Geoffrey D. Availability: The Haworth Press, 10 Alice St., Binghamton, NY 13904-1580. Journal Citation: Educational Leadership, v60 n4 p49-53 Dec 2002-Jan 2003 Publication Date: 2003 ISSN: 0013-1784 Language: English Document Type: Journal articles (080); Reports--Descriptive (141) Journal Announcement: CIJMAY2003 Abstract: Describes how Title I programs in No Child Left Behind Act can apply certain research-based strategies to improve the achievement of poor and minority students, including preschool and full-day kindergarten programs, extending learning into the summer, and accelerating school-year learning through the reduction of class size or the implementation of select comprehensive school-reform models. (Contains 26 references.) (PKP) Descriptors: *Early Intervention; Elementary Secondary Education; Summer Programs ED473416 EA032318 "We're from the State and We're Here To Help": State-Level Innovations in Support of High School Improvement. Author: Hamann, Edmund T.; Lane, Brett Institutional Author: Brown Univ., Providence, RI. Education Alliance for Equity in the Nation's Schools.(BBB32482) Availability: Education Alliance, 222 Richmond Street, Suite 300, Providence, RI 023903-4226. Tel: 800-521-9550 (Toll Free); Fax: 401-421-7650; Web site: http://www.alliance.brown.edu/. Sponsoring Agency: Institute of Education Sciences (ED), Washington, DC. (EDD00131) Publication Date: 2002 Language: English Document Type: Reports--Descriptive (141) Journal Announcement: RIESEP2003 Abstract: This report describes ongoing efforts of the Maine Department of Education to encourage high school improvement through state-level actions. Three intertwined strategies have added value to the individual schools' improvement efforts, including: (1) the drafting of a statewide reform framework called Promising Futures; (2) the creation of a new and unorthodox institutional formation, called the Center for Inquiry in Secondary Education; and (3) the success at substantially adapting the federal Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program by intertwining it with Promising Futures and restricting it to high schools. The success of these strategies has depended upon their personalized implementation by autonomous, credible, culturally savvy, devoted, and suitably experienced education leaders. Maine's appropriation and customization of federal guidelines allowed it to create a coherent, targeted, and distinct program, thus permitting the state to begin changing one of the most intransigent segments of the public education enterprise, the high school. The attempt at improvement in this state is promising because it is attuned to both local dispositions and contemporary understanding regarding organizational change and improvement. The authors hope that readers will consider the viability of the ideas presented in this report for state education agency action and consequent high school improvement elsewhere. (Contains 46 references.) (RT) Descriptors: Change Strategies; Demonstration Programs; *Educational Improvement; *Educational Innovation; High Schools; Program Descriptions; Program Implementation; *State Action; *State Aid; *State Programs Contract Number: ED-01-CO-0010 Geographic Source: U.S.; Rhode Island ED465199 EA031678 Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program: The Third Wave and Its Preliminary Effects. PREL Briefing Paper. Author: Church, Mary B. Institutional Author: Pacific Resources for Education and Learning, Honolulu, HI.(BBB34498) Availability: Pacific Resources for Education and Learning, 1099 Alakea Street, 25th Floor, Honolulu, HI 96813. Tel: 808-441-1300; Fax: 808-441-1385; Web site: http://www.prel.org. Sponsoring Agency: Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. (EDD00036) Publication Date: November 2000 Report Number: PB003 Language: English Document Type: Reports--Descriptive (141) Journal Announcement: RIEDEC2002 Descriptors: Demonstration Programs; Educational Research; *Educationally Disadvantaged; Elementary Secondary Education; Program Evaluation; Program Implementation Identifiers: *Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program; *Pacific Region; Reform Efforts Contract Number: RJ96006601 Geographic Source: U.S.; Hawaii ED456571 EA031306 CSRD Policy Study: Central Region Report. Author: Keller, Robert Institutional Author: Mid-Continent Regional Educational Lab., Aurora, CO.(BBB23081) Availability: Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning, 2550 S. Parker Rd., Suite 500, Aurora, CO 80015. Tel: 303-337-0990; Fax: 303-337-3005; e-mail: info@mcrel.org; Web site: http://www.mcrel.org. Sponsoring Agency: Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. (EDD00036) Publication Date: December 05, 2000 Language: English Pages: 15 Document Type: Reports--Evaluative (142) Journal Announcement: RIEFEB2002 Abstract: The Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program (CSRD) is designed to assist low-performing schools, especially Title I schools. Grants are awarded through statewide competitions. This report offers the findings of Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning's analysis of the application process and characteristics of first-round applicants in the Central Region states. The characteristics of the schools granted funding were analyzed to determine whether CSRD funding is reaching the populations intended by the program. The data specifying school characteristics were obtained from the National Center for Education Statistics' Common Core of Data. The types of technical assistance provided to potential applicants, the priorities in scoring applications, the major differences between successful and unsuccessful proposals, and the weaknesses of unsuccessful proposals were assessed. The success rate of low-achieving schools in obtaining funding and how this rate compares to other schools were also addressed. Rural and urban schools were compared by examining the percentage of schools that applied for funds, as well as the percentage that received funds. Analysis indicated substantial differences among states in the application process, specifically in the number of reviewers participating, the scoring rubrics applied, and the average funds awarded. Successful applicants had slightly fewer students and teachers, served a greater percentage of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, and more often demonstrated student need through involvement in Title I and school-improvement efforts. (RKJ) Descriptors: *Accountability; *Educational Change; Elementary Secondary Education; *School District Reorganization; School Districts; *School Restructuring Identifiers: Common Core of Data Program; *Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program; Mid Continent Research for Education and Learning; National Center for Educational Statistics Contract Number: RJ96006101 Geographic Source: U.S.; Colorado ED456546 EA031245 How Title I Can Become the Engine of Reform in America's Schools. Author: Slavin, Robert E. Availability: EDRS Price MF01/PC02 Plus Postage. Sponsoring Agency: Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. (EDD00036) Publication Date: August 1999 Language: English Pages: 42 Document Type: Opinion papers (120); Reports--Evaluative (142) Journal Announcement: RIEFEB2002 Abstract: While the majority of Title I funding should continue to support essential professional and paraprofessional staff in high-poverty schools, both existing and new Title I funds should increasingly support schools in adopting effective instructional programs and improving professional development. Children in Title I schools need 6 hours or more of high-quality instruction every day, not 40 minutes of remediation. It is time that Title I became the engine of reform in high-poverty schools, helping them adopt programs based on the best research, development, and dissemination practices. Title I can become an effective way to achieve funding for schoolwide change. Staff can choose from proven and replicable programs. Comprehensive or whole-school reform may be preferred. Or more focused programs targeting reading, math, early childhood, tutoring, classroom management, study skills, parent involvement, or school-to-work may be selected. Title I has become more flexible. Currently schools with at least 50 percent of its students qualifying for free or reduced prices lunches can become schoolwide projects with schools selecting the program to be used. Title I could also help by funding further evaluation on the effectiveness of current and new, but promising, programs. This report includes a review of programs for whole-school change, including the evidence of their effectiveness. (Contains 47 references.) (RKJ) Descriptors: *Educational Change; Elementary Secondary Education; Models Identifiers: *Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I Contract Number: OERI-R-117-D40005 Geographic Source: U.S.; Maryland ED439489 EA030296 Launching Comprehensive School Reform: Early Lessons for State and Federal Policymakers. Policy Issues, September 1999. Issue 3. Author: Friedman, Lawrence B.; Hanson, Matthew Institutional Author: North Central Regional Educational Lab., Oak Brook, IL.(BBB29165) Availability: EDRS Price MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. Sponsoring Agency: Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. (EDD00036) Publication Date: September 1999 Language: English Pages: 9 Document Type: Reports--Evaluative (142) Journal Announcement: RIESEP2000 Abstract: This publication examines education stakeholders' initial responses to the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program in six states in the North Central region of the U.S. Created by Congress in 1997 to help raise student achievement in public schools, the CSRD program is a multi-year initiative that provides financial incentives to encourage schools to adopt comprehensive reforms. The document discusses the effect of the CSRD program on state reform programs, examines schools targeted by the program and how they heard about it, and explores why some schools decided to apply for a CSRD grant and others did not. The findings show that the CSRD program is being launched as intended, and without major disruption to existing processes for providing technical assistance to schools. Rural schools accounted for the fewest number of applicants, and, compared with urban and suburban schools, were the least successful in their bids to obtain CSRD grants. Three factors affected a school's decision about whether to apply for a CSRD grant: (1) its perceptions of the alignment between CSRD and its ongoing school-improvement work; (2) the school's ability to respond to requests for proposals as dictated by limited time and/or staffing resources; and (3) its assessment of the likelihood of winning an award based on school need. (RJM) Descriptors: Comprehensive Programs; *Educational Change; Elementary Secondary Education; Federal Programs; Government School Relationship; Grants; *Improvement Programs; Instructional Improvement Identifiers: *Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program Geographic Source: U.S.; Illinois |