AN EMPIRICAL-TEST OF CONCLUSIONS FROM EFFECTIVE SCHOOLS RESEARCH

Effective schools variables identified in several literature reviews w ere collapsed into 6 constructs, and the independent effect of each co nstruct was empirically tested on student achievement level, The data for this analysis were taken from the National Educational Longitudina l Study for the years 1988, 1990, and 1992. The regression analysis of the data indicates that the most important effective schools characte ristics are an achievement-oriented school culture, principal autonomy in hiring and firing teachers, and high teacher morale. No evidence w as found that teacher empowerment, teacher education level, most princ ipal influences, and quality of relations between the administration a nd the school are related to student performance.