The keys to effective schools : educational reform as continuous improvement /

In a chapter-ending footnote contributor Newmann notes, "... an effective school is one with a record of high student achievement on either conventional tests or more authentic assessments." Even alternative educational assessment champions (readers may wish to consult Harold Berlak et. al. Toward a New Science of Educational Testing and Measurement; 1992) allow that the coin of the realm in school effectiveness is students' test scores. Therefore, one can be forgiven for assuming from the title, The Keys to Effective Schools that they are intent on documenting from the research how schools of high-performing students differ from others. Actually, the book was commissioned to support a National Educational Association initiative. Having identified what association leaders believe to be the most important characteristics of school quality, the editor has collected chapters supporting those positions. Some (notably Chapter 5) are entirely without documentation. Others (the Murphy and Alexander chapter, for instance) are very well documented. If the publication is viewed as a series of position papers rather than an objective compilation of research, it has a place in academic collections. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. D. E. Tanner California State University, Fresno