ABSTRACT
The Louisiana School Effectiveness Study (LSES) possessed the advantage of following the 1970's school effectiveness studies, and of occurring after the publication of many criticisms of that work. Louisiana is not regarded as a leader in the American education. Though, considerable gains have been made in the last 20 years, the state ranks among the highest in the nation in adult illiteracy, student drop-out rate, and teen pregnancy. The LSES was begun in response to a legislative mandate. The study was conceptualized as a long term examination of issues related to school level achievement among Louisiana's elementary school children. Three phases of the study have been completed. The third phase of LSES was designed as a more detailed analysis of a smaller number of schools. It nested elements of a teacher effectiveness study within a school effectiveness design. Effective schools have instructionally focused on the leaders.
