Fleischman Steve, Heppen Jessica
American Institutes for Research, USA.
Future Child. 2009 Spring;19(1):105-33. doi: 10.1353/foc.0.0021.
Noting that many of the nation's high schools are beset with major problems, such as low student reading and math achievement, high dropout rates, and an inadequate supply of effective teachers, Steve Fleischman and Jessica Heppen survey a range of strategies that educators have used to improve low-performing high schools. The authors begin by showing how the standards-based school reform movement, together with the No Child Left Behind Act requirement that underperforming schools adopt reforms supported by scientifically based research, spurred policy makers, educators, and researchers to create and implement a variety of approaches to attain improvement. Fleischman and Heppen then review a number of widely adopted reform models that aim to change "business as usual" in low-performing high schools. The models include comprehensive school reform programs, dual enrollment and early college high schools, smaller learning communities, specialty (for example, career) academies, charter high schools, and education management organizations. In practice, say the authors, many of these improvement efforts overlap, defying neat distinctions. Often, reforms are combined to reinforce one another. The authors explain the theories that drive the reforms, review evidence of their reforms' effectiveness to date, and suggest what it will take to make them work well. Although the reforms are promising, the authors say, few as yet have solid evidence of systematic or sustained success. In concluding, Fleischman and Heppen emphasize that the reasons for a high school's poor performance are so complex that no one reform model or approach, no matter how powerful, can turn around low-performing schools. They also stress the need for educators to implement each reform program with fidelity to its requirements and to support it for the time required for success. Looking to the future, the authors suggest steps that decision makers, researchers, and sponsors of research can take to promote evidence-based progress in education.
史蒂夫·弗莱施曼和杰西卡·赫彭注意到美国许多高中都面临着重大问题，比如学生阅读和数学成绩低下、高辍学率以及有效教师供应不足等，他们调查了教育工作者用来改善表现不佳的高中的一系列策略。作者首先展示了基于标准的学校改革运动，以及《不让一个孩子掉队法案》要求表现不佳的学校采用基于科学研究支持的改革措施，如何促使政策制定者、教育工作者和研究人员创建并实施各种方法来实现改进。弗莱施曼和赫彭随后回顾了一些广泛采用的旨在改变表现不佳的高中“常规做法”的改革模式。这些模式包括综合学校改革项目、双录取和早期学院高中、小型学习社区、特色（如职业）学院、特许高中以及教育管理组织。作者表示，在实践中，这些改进措施很多相互重叠，难以进行清晰的区分。通常，改革措施相互结合以增强效果。作者解释了推动这些改革的理论，回顾了迄今为止这些改革有效性的证据，并指出要使其良好运作需要什么条件。作者称，尽管这些改革前景光明，但目前很少有能证明其系统性或持续性成功的可靠证据。在结论部分，弗莱施曼和赫彭强调，高中表现不佳的原因非常复杂，以至于没有一种改革模式或方法，无论多么强大，能够扭转表现不佳的学校的局面。他们还强调教育工作者需要严格按照每个改革项目的要求实施，并在成功所需的时间内给予支持。展望未来，作者提出了决策者、研究人员和研究资助者为推动教育领域基于证据的进步可以采取的步骤。
