With its focusing on high-stakes testing in reading and math, NCLB has narrowed the curriculum. This focus comes at the expense of instruction in social studies, the arts, science, and health and denies many students access to the quality curriculums that students in more affluent schools enjoy. NCLB is now the prescribed method of treatment for…

A review of some of the most important educational research of the past 50 years. Re-establishes how noted researchers and their research-based formulations have influenced U.S. Supreme Court decisions; curriculum and instruction; early childhood education; and policies regarding small class size, standards-based reform, and productivity.…

A turnaround school in Mission, Texas proves poverty and underachievement are not synonymous. The 1998 passing rate on state assessments was 90.7 percent, compared to 41.2 percent in 1993. Factors include committed faculty, a strong principal, extended reading practice and instructional time, incentives and recognition, and pre-assessment…

Michael Maccoby, in a study of 250 top management personnel, has identified four species of managers. Some educational leaders may be like the corporation executives Maccoby calls "gamesmen." They are team players, love to win--and lack compassion. (Author/MLF)

Efforts to improve American high schools must center on their most fundamental deficiencies. Out of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development's High School Futures Planning Consortium have evolved experience-based principles (outlined in sidebars) that other school leaders can adapt for improving their schools' organization,…

Numerous school districts are experimenting with site-based management, gaining increased authority and responsibility while aiming to improve accountability and productivity. Some key elements include alternative resource allocation, expanded decision-making through teamwork, key advisory committee roles for parents and high schoolers, increased…

Describes a human resources development program for school administrators, including training in management functions, leader behavior skills, instructional leadership skills, and more traditional topics. (Author/JM)

Proposes a model high school curriculum featuring five clusters of knowledge, including cultural studies, citizenship and societal studies, science and technology, health and recreation, and skills in learning, communicating, and thinking. Presents a "stratified needs assessment instrument" to assess the instructional time to be devoted to each…

Findings from a study of 16 school districts reveal that teachers are less satisfied than administrators with school districts' efforts to improve instruction in the areas of curriculum development, clinical supervision, staff development, and teacher evaluation. (Author/MLF)

The observable deficiencies in would-be instructional leaders can be overcome by a well conceived Human Resource Development (HRD) program. Describes a strong HRD program designed to improve administrator leadership ability. (Author/RK)

Today's instructional leader must possess skills in four critical areas: curriculum development, clinical supervision, staff development, and teacher evaluation. (Author/JM)