Geoffrey Borman, Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk, Johns Hopkins University
November 2002
The Johns Hopkins-based Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk (CRESPAR) is the source of this 45-page study. A review of 250 studies of "comprehensive school reform" programs (CSR, also known as "whole-school reform"), it finds that only 3 of 29 school models can be said to "work" in terms of significantly and reliably boosting student achievement. (Those are Direct Instruction, Success for All and the School Development Program.) Though just about every other model can boast some positive effects, implementation matters hugely and, in 26 cases, the jury is still out as to whether the model, overall, can be counted upon to increase pupil learning. The authors don't say they should be dismissed or CSR abandoned, only that better and more sustained research is needed. Still, there's not much comfort here for those who want to believe that CSR models are the secret of turning bad schools into effective ones. See for yourself at http://www.csos.jhu.edu/crespar/techReports/Report59.pdf.
