School Improvement

Editor’s Note

Articles on this page examine some of the myriad challenges and difficult choices associated with the work of organizational change in schools. The topic includes discussion of promising strategies and practices associated with supporting and sustaining reform.—N.W.

The Road to School Improvement

It's hard, it's bumpy, and it takes as long as it takes

In our work on instructional improvement with low-performing schools, we are often asked, “How long does it take?” The next most frequently asked question is, “We’re stuck. What should we do next? Continue

Lessons From Down Under

Sometimes I like to take a break from the ongoing food fight over test scores and AYP and ponder what education might look like without American-style reforms.

The perfect opportunity presented itself the other day when two high-level education officials from Victoria, Australia, came to talk to doctoral students at Harvard Graduate School of Education about their own experiences with reform. All in all, their system, which began in 2003, could not be more different from our own.
Continue

The Real Race to the Top

To win, your district needs a strategy—not just a strategic plan

The Obama administration’s planned investments of $100 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds and an additional $4 billion in Race to the Top funds offer tremendous opportunities for school systems to focus intently on the work that will bring the greatest learning results for students. Continue

Improving Teaching and Learning through Instructional Rounds

Finding High-Achieving Schools in Unexpected Places

An interview with Karin Chenoweth

School-Based Coaching

A revolution in professional development—or just the latest fad?

The “Data Wise” Improvement Process

Eight steps for using test data to improve teaching and learning

Unlearned Lessons

Six stumbling blocks to our schools' success

Creating Coherence in District Administration

A framework based on the work of the Public Education Leadership Project

Professionalism, Partnerships, and Positive Public Discourse

How Ontario built support for its successful school reform strategy

In Praise of the Comprehensive High School

We can learn from what small schools do well—but there are things big schools can do better

Where High Turnover Meets Low Performance

New initiatives target the special problems of hard-to-staff schools

What (So-Called) Low-Performing Schools Can Teach (So-Called) High-Performing Schools

Aiming for AYP

The quest to make “adequate yearly progress” leads one targeted district to teach math in all junior high classes

Telling Tales Out of Charter School

What educators and policymakers can learn from the successes and failures of charters

Three Thousand Missing Hours

Where does the instructional time go?

Is Coaching the Best Use of Resources?

For some schools, other investments should come first

Making Schools Safer for LGBT Youth

Despite signs of progress, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students say harassment persists

Urgent Lessons from Unexpected Schools

An Interview with Karin Chenoweth

Getting and Spending

Schools and districts share lessons on the effective uses of philanthropy

One Charter School's Formula for Success

Could It Work in a Large, Traditional Public School?

Rethinking High School and Beyond

A European-style proposal for strengthening the transition to work or higher education

Buying Quality

With budget cuts and layoffs from coast to coast, schools turn to private donations to make up the shortfall

Fuel for Reform

The Importance of Trust in Changing Schools

Do AP and IB Courses Have Merit?

A new study by the National Research Council says yes, but recommends changes in how courses are taught

Using Charters to Improve Urban Schools

Two university-run programs are taking advantage of flexible charter school laws in an effort to raise minority achievement

The Limits of “Change”

Supporting real instructional improvement requires more than fiddling with organizational structures

Related Books

How It's Being Done
Instructional Rounds in Education
School Reform from the Inside Out