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Q:What are some characteristics of an effective school?

According to a survey of almost 200 educational research articles published in the Canadian Journal of Education, effective schools have several characteristics which are not found in less effective schools. They include:

• High-quality instruction, especially in regard to its clarity of presentation.
  
• Classrooms are orderly, not chaotic.
  
• The teachers have high expectations of all their students.
  
• Teachers provide immediate feedback on progress.
  
• Students spend a large part of their time involved in instruction.
  
• Effective schools also provide regular assessments and communicate the results to parents.

Q:How can one tell if a School Board is well managed?

A recent book, Struggling to be Good Enough, outlines those attributes which make some school districts more effective at educating children than others. It is of interest that money is not a major factor. In fact, less well-managed school districts tend to spend more money on consultants to try to buy a solution as if it were a commodity. More effective boards tend to spend their resources on the teachers and school classrooms. They also change practices when existing instructional methods do not achieve satisfactory results. They have a commitment to excellence and seek parental involvement.

Q:How can I prepare for a Parent-Teacher Interview?

At least once a year, parents are invited to discuss the progress of their child with the child's teacher. Parents are often unsure of what questions to ask in order to determine what progress the student has made or what, if any, problems might exist. We should assume that every teacher has a list of skills that he or she expects to teach the students in each curriculum area during the school year. Communication between parents and teachers is greatly facilitated when both sides are aware of the list of skills to be taught.

Parents should ask these four simple but important questions and insist on satisfactory answers:

• What does my child know now?
  
• What skill will you teach him next?
  
• How will you know that he knows it?
  
• How will I know that he knows it?

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