Bronfenbrenner's ecological paradigm is well suited for research on school effectiveness. Criteria for identifying effective schools should be thought of as indicators of learning occurring in a context of school practices and other influences. Use of the term "outcomes" implies a linear cause and effect relationship between school practices and student learning. Another limitation of conventional outcome measures is that they are not clearly tied to the ultimate aims of schooling which involve lifelong functioning. Constructive functioning in our culture requires transfer of knowledge to specific situations, weighing conflicting information, and determining the need for and finding additional information. Indicators of effective schooling should combine many measures predicting post school success, including both academic and nonacademic learning. Performance tests and research which establishes empirical validity would help select indicators. Indicators should recognize developmental changes in persons over time and across settings. A hypothetical school setting is described, in which academic knowledge and skills, independent learning, problem solving, and social responsibility are assessed as indicators. (GDC)