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Effective schools


"Effective Schools" is both an educational movement and body of research which examines school-based factors which positively influence learning outcomes in K-12 schools. Effective schools research has been widely adopted by school districts worldwide.

Early research into the essential qualities of successful schools emerged in North America as a response to the controversial 1966 Coleman Report, which concluded that family background and socio-economics were the major determinants of student achievement. Research published by Christopher Jencks in 1972 contributed to Coleman's findings, suggesting that "school quality has little effect on achievement."

The Coleman Report prompted U.S. policymakers to focus on "compensatory programs" which focused on changing the behavior of less advantaged students. The report also stimulated vigorous reaction from educational researchers who believed, to the contrary, that schools could make a significant difference on student achievement. Their research formed the foundation of the 'Effective Schools Movement', and enabled them to assert that "all children can learn and that the school controls the factors necessary to assure student mastery of the core curriculum."

Early effective schools researchers attempted to locate schools that were successful in educating students of all backgrounds, regardless of socio-economic status or family background. Such schools were found in varying locations and communities, and researchers tried to isolate which philosophies, policies, and practices those schools had in common.

Larry Lezotte and Wilbur B. Brookover conducted studies at eight Michigan elementary schools in the mid-1970s, identifying characteristics of schools that were improving or declining. A notable finding was that "staff in the declining schools had low opinions of their students' abilities, while the staff in the improving schools had high opinions of student abilities".

George Weber, and later Ronald Edmonds, conducted research in inner-city U.S. schools where students of low socio-economic background were able to equal or surpass the national average. Edmonds' 1979 article "Effective Schools for the Urban Poor" is noted for drawing professional attention to the effective schools movement. Edmonds outlined six characteristics essential to effective schools, including:

Educational researchers soon dropped "capacity to divert energy and resources" from the list, and Edmonds' “five-factor model” was widely proclaimed as a framework for reforming low-performing schools.


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