ABSTRACT
'Performance indicators' are a high priority in many countries in the 1990s. R. K. Blank suggests that they typically cover: student outcomes; curriculum content; teacher quality; and so on. There are numerous definitions of school effectiveness couched in either quantifiable outcomes or as qualities. In all cases, the school effectiveness literature tends to prescribe school characteristics which are associated with successful student outcomes. Edmonds defined an instructionally effective school as one that brings the children of the poor to those minimal masteries of basic school skills that describe minimally successful student performance for the children of the middle class. Effective schools have been described as vital environments where people matter. The interactions between students and teachers are meaningful. It is also worth noting that effective schools and high performance results do not continue to thrive — many falter over time due to changes in personnel or other external factors.
