This document consists of articles 1-20 published in the electronic journal "Educational Policy Analysis Archives" for the year 1999: (1) "Ethnic Segregation in Arizona Charter Schools" (Casey D. Cobb and Gene V. Glass); (2) "Educational Research in Latin America: A Response to Akkari and Perez" (Mariano Narodowski); (3) "Effects on Students of a…

This bulletin reviews selected research on the relationship of increased instructional time to student achievement. Different ways of increasing time are discussed, including lengthening the school year and the school day, reallocating time within the day to allow more time for instruction, improving teachers' management skills, and increasing…

Effective leadership is more than the ability to demonstrate specific skills. The validity of early effective principal and leadership trait research has been questioned by recent studies. School improvement formulas that are narrowly focused on basic skills could easily lead to more demanding treatment of students. Recent studies show that…

A number of researchers and national commission reports have recommended increased autonomy of public schools through school-site management. School-based management entails focusing the full resources of the system at school level and allowing decisions to be make at that level where faculty and principal constitute a natural management team.…

The quality of a school's learning climate determines its success or failure. The learning climate includes school atmosphere and leadership. Implementing school improvement programs is a process that involves the whole school community. Among other factors, program success is most likely when administrators and faculty develop plans tailored to…

A set of belief statements outlined by Texas educators that express fundamental assumptions about individual responsibilities, school obligations, and educational system goals are described in this educational policy bulletin. The following five criteria are used to test each belief statement: relevance; importance; common meaning; context; and…

Alternatives to standard language proficiency testing of bilingual or language minority students are discussed in this educational policy bulletin. The New Mexico strategy is described, which uses multiple assessment techniques to identify students' home language, assess oral English proficiency through standardized testing and teacher…

Rapid social change in American society calls for a flexible, self-correcting educational system. The view that achievement of such a system requires major changes in the organization and delivery of educational services and a redefinition of the entire system is examined in this educational policy bulletin. Highlights of reform research are…

School restructuring requires the critical assessment of all aspects of the educational system, including the goals of schooling; organization and management at the local, district, and state levels, curriculum; instruction; roles and responsibilities of educational personnel, students, and parents; school finance; and education regulation and…

Growing demands for accountability and useful measurement of educational outcomes have contributed to increasing efforts to develop or refine more valid and reliable methods of educational assessment. More states are designing high-quality indicator systems for evaluation at the school, district, and state levels. Seven recommendations derived…

Educational issues of concern to southwestern state legislatures are reviewed in this educational policy bulletin. Information from a survey of legislative education committee members and legislative aides in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas is used to develop profiles of each state's unique educational concerns and political…

Implementing shared decision making in school-based management requires fundamental changes in traditional behavior. Initiation of restructuring systemic authority and decision-making arrangements requires changing deeply held beliefs and developing new roles and relationships. A recent survey of educational practitioners identified eight major…

Findings of a survey conducted in 1989 to identify the difficulties facing educational practitioners when initiating shared decision making in school-based management are presented in this educational policy bulletin. The first of a two-issue report examined five of the eight major barriers to changing traditional behavior: fear of taking risks,…

The expanded role of schools in integrating various service providers to address the needs of at-risk students and their families is discussed in this educational policy bulletin. The debate about the extent and means of the broadening school scope is reviewed and the types of school-linked service delivery programs are outlined. Characteristics…

Recommendations for implementing school-based management and shared decision making are presented in this educational policy bulletin. Based on a literature review and reported experiences of educational practitioners, four recommendations include: transformation of authority at district and school site levels; development of a systemwide…