Authentic Achievement: Restructuring Schools for Intellectual Quality

This book presents the findings of a five-year, federally funded study that examined the connection between school restructuring and student achievement. Using a wealth of examples, the authors provide a vivid picture of the conditions under which innovations in a school's organization contribute to achievement. They recommend standards for reaching student intellectual quality and offer evidence of how these standards work.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: The School Restructuring Study.

AUTHENTIC ACHIEVEMENT.

Standards for Authentic Achievement and Pedagogy (G. Wehlage, et al.).

Does Authentic Pedagogy Increase Student Achievement? (H. Marks, et al.).

PORTRAITS OF RESTRUCTURING SCHOOLS.

Careen and Lamar Elementary Schools (K. Doane).

4. Red Lake and Okanagon Middle Schools (K. Doane).

Cibola and Island High Schools (K. Doane).

FOUNDATIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL RESTRUCTURING.

Intellectual Quality (F. Newmann, et al.).

Schoolwide Professional Community (K. Louis, et al.).

THE INTERPLAY OF SCHOOL CULTURE AND STRUCTURE.

Support for Student Achievement (H. Marks, et al.).

Pathways to Equity (W. Secada, et al.).

Participatory Decision Making (M. King, et al.).

Support from External Agencies (G. Wehlage, et al.).

Conclusion: Restructuring for Authentic Student Achievement (F. Newmann & G. Wehlage).

About the Author :
FRED M. NEWMANN is professor of curriculum and instruction, University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is former director of the National Center on Effective Secondary Schools and of the Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools.

Review :
?Newmann and his colleagues get beyond the slogans about ?high standards' to what must be done in classrooms and schools. They root this analysis in careful research, thereby giving it especially persuasive force.? --Theodore R. Sizer, university professor, Brown University, and chairman, Coalition of Essential Schools

?Fred Newmann, unlike most researchers, pays attention to the critical linkage between reorganizing schools and what happens in classrooms. In these research-based portraits of schools and classrooms, reform-minded policymakers and practitioners will find compelling evidence to never forget the connection between teaching, learning, and restructuring.? --Larry Cuban, professor of education, Stanford University

?Rare is the educational text that takes theory as seriously as practice, that produces as much good news as sobering analyses, that tests for excellence and equity in the same setting. Newmann and Associates demonstrate unequivocally the powerful relation of good teaching to serious learning. This book is a gift to educators, a treat for policymakers, and a treasure for those of us who are starved for images of good educational practice. --Michelle Fine, professor of psychology, City University of New York, Graduate Center

?Administrators, teachers, and parents who are serious about implementing positive change in the educational process for the 21st century will benefit from Authentic Achievement. In a society where educational qualifications are necessary to compete professionally, this book is a roadmap, showing ways we can help young people achieve their goals.? --Floretta Dukes McKenzie, former superintAndent of schools, Washington, D.C., and president, The McKenzie Group, Inc.