This statewide study examined the relationships between principal managerial, instructional, and transformational leadership and student achievement in public high schools. Differences in student achievement were found when schools were grouped according to principal leadership factors. Principal leadership behaviors promoting instructional and…

This paper presents a model for implementing and sustaining standards-based curricular reform and seven recommendations for principals that are grounded in the results of a comprehensive, longitudinal study. The study examined the characteristics of five schools through data from principals, teachers, students, and external observers over a 6-year…

A curriculum implementation monitoring system should be relatively inexpensive, unburdensome for faculty, and improvement oriented; produce information to guide staff development; and refrain from covertly evaluating teachers. A self-assessment checklist should report teachers' perceptions about degree of implementation, difficulty level, and…

To meet recently promulgated standards, teachers are challenged to teach more rigorous, extensive subject-area content, develop varied instructional strategies, and reach a wider range of students. Teachers should be guided by a high-quality curriculum characterized by academic rigor, equity, and developmental responsiveness. (MLH)

Curriculum auditing is a quality-control process. If a course is not meeting expectations, is not serving students, or needs adjustment, the Roanoke Valley (Virginia) Governor's School for Science and Technology employs benchmarking to attain data to fix the problem or move in another direction. (MLH)

Combining standards with a differentiated curriculum for highly able learners accomplishes two goals: it provides rich, rigorous curricula for these students and meets state standards. This process can have a ripple effect by improving curricula for the entire school and by benefiting all students' learning. (MLH)

A study of 270 sophomores taught in either a block scheduling or traditional scheduling format showed significant results for English and biology. Block schedules significantly predicted pretest to posttest differences in Educational Testing Service subject scores over and above those of students following traditional schedules. (Contains 16…

In tomorrow's schools, technology will strongly determine how and what teachers will use for instruction. Literacy requirements will include accessing, thinking, and communication skills. Curriculum planners will grasp real-world requirements and will set guidelines for needed skills. Children will begin education in their cribs surrounded by…

Not just computers, technology is the product of human imagination, inventiveness, and creativity that has defined the iron, industrial, and information ages. Technology education is a core subject that provides fundamental understandings to build future citizens, family members, consumers, and workers. The United States has been slow to develop…

Convinced that school counselors can do more to increase young people's access to high achievement and successful postsecondary educational and career options, the DeWitt Wallace-Readers' Digest Fund awarded the Education Trust a planning grant to study counselor preparation. Ten universities were selected to revamp training programs around eight…

A committee of media specialists, librarians, teachers, parents, and administrators at a Minnesota district devised an information literacy curriculum. They identified current skills and software; learned an information-processing mode; identified curriculum integration areas; brainstormed projects; identified needed resources; and developed…

To help students become effective information users from a variety of resources, librarians at one Illinois high school designed a before-school inservice training program, produced a 10-minute video illustrating the research process, and developed tie-ins to each department supporting the curriculum taught by content-area teachers. (14…

School violence is more likely in schools located in high-crime areas, in large schools with large classes, in schools containing a large percentage of male students, and in schools with weak administrators. The "Practical Intelligence" curriculum enables middle-school youths who are not classically successful students to make a contribution and…

A Massachusetts regional high school that was formerly on probation has totally restructured its school day, culture, curriculum, and treatment of professionals. Flex time, offered in exchange for performing building supervision duties, allows teachers more flexibility and control in structuring their professional and personal lives. A more…

The articles in this special section discuss emerging national standards and chart future developments for secondary curricula in health, physical education, arts, music, family and consumer sciences, technology, science education, business education, and social studies. Emphasis is on reform efforts, knowledge development, curriculum frameworks,…