K-12/School District Reports

March 2006 - Why Some Schools with Latino Children Beat the Odds ...and Others Don't - Using the methodology of Jim Collins from his book "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Other's Don't," the authors of this report found 12 elementary and middle schools in Arizona--schools whose students are mostly Latino and mostly poor--that are "beating the odds" on reading and math scores. With Jim Collins' active involvement, the research team found six keys to success that can translate into broader messages for education policy and strategy. The study calls for the creation of a dissemination mechanism to bring "best practices" into every school in Arizona, Morrison Institute for Public Policy and the Center for the Future of Arizona.

January 2006 - Racial Transformation and the Changing Nature of Segregation - The changing racial composition of schools in the U.S. requires that we think about desegregation more broadly. What are needed are policies that are not limited to getting “minority” students into white schools but focus on integrating students from isolation in high poverty black and Latino schools to middle class white, Asian and multiracial schools, The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, page 38. (Learn more about desegregation at Parents United's page on NCLB History.)

September 2004 - How Leadership Influences Student Learning - Study after study suggests that socioeconomic status of families explains more than half of the difference in student achievement across schools(pdf page 49), Wallace Foundation [requires free log-in].

2004 - What makes a successful school system?, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

2003 - Closing Achievement Gaps: Improving Educational Outcomes for Hispanic Children, National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators

April 2001 - It Takes More Than Testing: Closing the Achievement Gap, Center for Education Policy

2000 - 90/90/90 Schools: A Case Study (pdf) - 90% minorities, 90% students in poverty, and 90% performing at "proficient" or higher, Accountability in Action (html).

Elementary

November 2005 - Elementary School Comprehensive School Reform Models - A review of the effectiveness of 22 widely adopted elementary school comprehensive school reform (CSR) models, Comprehensive School Reform Quality (CSRQ) Center.

February 2005 - Inside the Black Box of High-Performing High-Poverty Schools, Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.

Middle School/Junior High

March 2006 - Breaking Ranks in the Middle: Strategies for Leading Middle Level Reform - Nine strategies and 30 recommendations for middle school reform, National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

2004 - Reading Next—A Vision for Action and Research in Middle and High School Literacy, Alliance for Excellent Education.

2000 - Beating the Odds: Teaching Middle and High School Students to Read and Write Well - Describes six features of effective English instruction, National Research Center on English Learning & Achievement, University at Albany.

High School

Center for High School Excellence, North Central Regional Education Laboratory.

Elements of a Successful High School, Alliance for Excellent Education.

Highlight on High Schools - Education Trust.

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October 2007 - ‘Restoring Value’ to the High School Diploma: The Rhetoric and Practice of Higher Standards - Several recent high-profile reports calling for the “reinvention” of the American high school are simplistic and seriously flawed. The current push for “rigor” fails on several levels. Recommends “multiple pathways” structured around themes, some drawn from occupational areas, others drawn from broad, multidisciplinary concepts, EPRU/Education and the Public Interest Center.

December 2006 - Tough Choices or Tough Times (Executive Summary) - Recommendations from the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, National Center on Education and the Economy.

October 2006 - Key Practices and Policies of Consistently Higher Performing High Schools, National High School Center.

May 2006 - Meeting Five Critical Challenges of High School Reform: Lessons from Research on Three Reform Models (Career Academies, First Things First, and Talent Development), MDRC.

March 2006 - Results that Matter: 21st Century Skills and High School Reform - 21st century skills integrated with core academic subjects — should be the “design specs” for creating high schools that are truly effective for students and the nation, Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

November 2005 - Gaining Traction, Gaining Ground: How Some High Schools Accelerate Learning for Struggling Students, Education Trust.

November 2005 - Getting Off the Hamster Wheel of Reform - Even with all the external elements of school reform in place, educators can end up spinning their wheels, Principal Leadership.

April 2005 - A Call to Action: Transforming High School for All Youth, National High School Alliance.

February 2005 - Prepared remarks by Bill Gates, co-chair, National Education Summit on High Schools.

February 2005 - Violence in Schools: Schools are Safer Than Ever. Contrary to public perception, violent crime in schools has declined dramatically since 1994. Bullying is one form of violence that seems to have increased in recent years, although it is not clear if the increase reflects more incidents of bullying at school or greater awareness of bullying as a problem, Youth Violence Project.

February 2005 - An Action Agenda for Improving America’s High Schools, Prepared for the National Education Summit on High Schools.  Sponsored by Achieve, Inc. and National Governors Association in partnership with Business Roundtable, the Education Commission of the States and the Hunt Institute.

January 2005 - State Strategies for Redesigning High Schools and
Promoting High School to College Transitions, Education Commission of the States.