While education accountability systems emphasize teacher quality as a prerequisite for student learning, education administrators have struggled to staff low-performing schools with effective teachers. Fueled in part by the federal Teacher Incentive Fund, compensation reforms have gained center stage status among strategies aimed at improving…

The effectiveness of educator incentive programs rests on the assumption that the potential rewards for participants will motivate them to behave in certain ways (e.g., choose certain jobs, expend greater effort, engage in capacity-building professional development). Some researchers have examined the impact of financial incentives on teacher…

This article offers a framework for assessing how education policy initiatives may affect a school's capacity to improve its performance. Drawing on the theoretical literature regarding school capacity and case studies of high-stakes accountability policies, the authors develop and illustrate a framework that includes both a resource dimension and…

Over the past 4 decades, state governments have become increasingly involved in efforts to influence the public schools. Describes this governance shift, examines contrasting views of its impact on public schools, and suggests that states may be influencing local schools in potentially powerful ways that have not been broadly recognized. (Contains…

Identified key elements of the "theory of action" embodied in reconstitution reforms and examined them in light of findings from a 2-year study in 3 schools. Evidence suggests that the theory of action in such reforms may be seriously flawed, as dominant patterns of implementation ran counter to the major premises of the policy. (SLD)

Interpretation, assimilation, and adjustment to the Utah Career Ladder Program and the extent to which these responses reflect fundamental changes in the structure of teacher work were assessed. Promotional positions and differentiated salaries--distinctive features of a career ladder--were being compromised at all levels of the system. (SLD)

A case study of site-based governance councils in Salt Lake City (Utah) is described. The study was a test of whether building-based councils actually enable teachers and parents to exert substantial influence on school policy. The reason why research findings did not fit expectations is discussed. (SLD)

Hans Weiler's conception of the political utilities of decentralization are applied to case study data of a school district's decision to enact site-based management. It is argued that site-based management may have considerable political utility in crises. (SLD)