• Comprehensive School Reform, Making Good Choices: A Guide for Schools and Districts, revised for 2002, NCREL (www.ncrel.org/csri/progtool.htm) This tool for planning and implementing CSR helps schools select a comprehensive reform model that fits the needs of the school.
  
  
• School CSR Self-Assessment Tool and Assessment of School Readiness are forms developed by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) to assist schools assess their needs related to the eleven components in the comprehensive school reform legislation. (www.nwrel.org/csrdp/tool2.pdf) and (www.nwrel.org/csrdp/readiness.pdf).
  
  
• The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM): A Model for Change in Individuals, 1996, Reprinted with permission from the chapter entitled " Professional Development for Science Education: A Critical and Immediate Challenge," by Susan Loucks-Horsley. National Standards & the Science Curriculum (www.nas.edu/rise/backg4a.htm)
  
  The Concerns-Based Adoption Model identifies and provides ways to assess seven stages of concern among people who are experiencing change. The model holds that people considering and experiencing change (such as the teachers, students, and other key stakeholders that engage in CSR) evolve over time in regard to their questions and concerns. The model can help school leadership teams anticipate and prepare for the kind of questioning they may face during a comprehensive school reform effort.

Guides and Tools

• Better by Design? A Consumer’s Guide to Schoolwide Reform, 1999, Thomas B. Fordham Foundation (www.edexcellence.net/library/bbd/better_by_design.html) This guide describes ten reform models and presents accounts of site visits to school where each model is being implemented.
  
  
• Catalog of School Reform Models, Northwest Regional Education Laboratory ( www.nwrel.org/scpd/catalog/index.shtm) and The National Clearinghouse on Comprehensive School Reform (www.goodschools.gwu.edu) This catalog contains information about a wide variety of comprehensive models, plus additional entries on models that focus specifically on reading. Currently, the catalog includes information on 26 comprehensive models and 10 reading models.
  
  
• CSR (Comprehensive School Reform) Implementation Profile, WestEd (CSR Continuum). Using a rubric for each of the eleven components, this WestEd continuum will help schools assess their growth toward comprehensive school reform.
  
  
• Comprehensive Reform Models Addressing the Needs of English Language Learners, 1999 (www.ncela.gwu.edu/miscpubs/cesdp/csrmodels/index.htm) This resource guide, developed by the Region IX Southwest Comprehensive Assistance Center, describes some of the nationally available and locally developed school reform models that address the needs of English language learners.
  
  
• Guide to Working with Model Providers, 2000, U.S. Department of Education (www.ncrel.org/csri/model.pdf) This document from the Regional Educational Laboratory Network offers advice and tools to schools and districts working with an external model provider. The guide follows the process through initial stages, contract negotiations and on-going partnerships.
  
  
• If the Shoe Fits: A Guide for Charter Schools Thinking about Adopting a CSR Design, 1998, Charter Friends Network (www.charterfriends.org/shoefits.html) This guide addresses the benefits and challenges of implementing CSR models in charter schools and offers advice on finding the right design.
  
  
• Comprehensive School Reform, Making Good Choices: Districts Take the Lead, 2000, NCREL (www.ncrel.org/csri/progtool.htm) This tool focuses on the role the school district plays in leading and supporting comprehensive school reform. Topics include strategic planning, data collection, resource reallocation, and evaluation.
  
  
• CSR Practitioner’s Guide to Scientifically Based Research, 2003, National Clearinghouse on Comprehensive School Reform (www.goodschools.gwu.edu/pubs/pg/index.htm) This guide is designed to help those planning for or implementing CSR to understand and respond to the new federal regulations regarding the quality of research supporting CSR models and programs.
  
  
• Model Key Features: Guiding Questions for Teachers, NWREL (www.nwrel.org/csrdp/questions.pdf) This tool helps teachers understand the key features of a CSR model as it impacts classroom practice.
  
  
• Database of CSR Schools, The Southwest Regional Education Laboratory (SEDL) maintains a searchable database to help identify schools implementing particular reform models. It also provides State-specific information on CSR subgrants. (www.sedl.org/csrd/awards.html)
  
  
• Tool Kit for Engaging a Design-Based Assistance Provider: Guidelines for Ensuring the Quality of National Design-Based Assistance Providers, 2000, New American Schools (Naschools) This report helps schools assess the quality of and compare comprehensive school reform models, and shows school staff members how to build support for comprehensive school reform in the community.
  
  

Research: Making Informed Choices

• An Educator’s Guide to Schoolwide Reform, 1999, American Institutes of Research, www.aasa.org/issues_and_insights/district_organization/Reform/index.htm Commissioned by a group of national education organizations and conducted by the American Institutes for Research, this study reviews research data on 24 school reform models, rates the quality of support provided by the model developers, and provides information on the cost and number of schools implementing the models.
  
  
• Comprehensive School Reform and Student Achievement: A Meta-Analysis, 2002 Report #59, Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk (CRESPAR) (www.csos.jhu.edu/crespar/techreports/report59.pdf) A review of the research on the achievement effects of the nationally disseminated and externally developed school improvement programs known as “whole-school” or “comprehensive” reforms. This study also looks at the specific effects of 29 of the most widely implemented models.
  
  

Guides and Tools

• Comprehensive School Reform: Research-Based Strategies to Achieve High Standards, May 2000 WestEd (www.wested.org/csrd/guidebook) This guidebook from the Region XI Northern California Comprehensive Assistance Center offers step-by-step explanations and practical tools to help schools with successful implementation of comprehensive, schoolwide reform.
  
  
• How to Build Support for Comprehensive School Reform, 1999, New American Schools (www.naschools.org) This guidebook offers a step-by-step advice on how to involve key stakeholders--teachers, administrators, parent, and the community--in building long-term support for CSR.
  
  
• Implementing Schoolwide Programs: An Idea Book on Planning1998, U.S. Department of Education (www.ed.gov/pubs/Idea_Planning)This guide outlines six steps for school reform planning: establishing a planning team; conducting a comprehensive needs assessment; clarifying needs and finding research-based strategies; setting schoolwide program goals; writing the schoolwide plan; and finalizing the schoolwide plan.
  
  
• The Toolbelt: A Collection of Data-Driven Decision-Making Tools for Educators/Tutorial, 2000, North Central Regional Educational Laboratory(http://www.ncrel.org/toolbelt/tutor.htm). This simple tutorial walks school staff members through eight steps of using data to inform their decisions throughout the process of continuous school improvement.
  
  
• CSRD in the Field: Final Update, 2000, U.S. Department of Education (www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/compreform) This is the final installment of the CSRD in the Field reports on initial implementation. It offers observations and examples drawn from site visits about how schools and districts are dealing with implementation challenges.
  
  
• CSRD in the Field: Final Update, 2000, U.S. Department of Education (www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/compreform) This is the final installment of the CSRD in the Field reports on initial implementation. It offers observations and examples drawn from site visits about how schools and districts are dealing with implementation challenges.
  
  
• Changing by Design: A Comprehensive Approach to School Reform, 1998, NCREL (www.ncrel.org/csri/progtool.htm) This is multimedia presentation on the challenges of comprehensive school reform. An accompanying booklet, An Introduction to Implementation, gives basic information on the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program.
  
  
• CSRD Implementation in Native American Sites: Cross Site Lessons Learned, 2000, WestEd (www.wested.org/csrd/report.pdf) The cross-site report, conducted by a collaboration of three Regional Education laboratories, examined how schools serving Native American students used CSRD to better meet the needs of students.
  
  
• Lessons from New American Schools’ Scale-Up Phase: Prospects for Bringing Designs to Multiple Schools (1998) and Facing the Challenges of Whole-School Reform: New American Schools After a Decade (2002) RAND (www.rand.org/publications) These reports follow the progress of the selected comprehensive reform models and provide lessons on the key factors involved in successful implementation, including school climate, model choice, and school and district site factors.

Guides and Tools

• At Your Fingertips: Using Everyday Data to Improve Schools, 1998, MPR Associates (www.mprinc.com) This workbook is designed to help school staff use various school data to improve schools. The guide presents a simple six-step approach to selecting, analyzing, and reporting key information. This workbook costs $39.95. It can be ordered by calling (800) 677-6987, by emailing services@mprinc.com or by ordering online at http://www.mprinc.com/ps/ayf/index.html.
  
  
• Evaluating Whole School Reform Efforts: A Guide for District and School Staff, (second edition) 2000, Northwest Regional Education Laboratory (www.nwrac.org/whole-school/scholeschool.pdf) The guidebook describes how to plan and prepare for an evaluation, develop evaluation questions, collect, analyze, interpret, and report data; and use findings to make improvements.
  
  
• How to Evaluate Comprehensive School Reform Models, 1999, New American Schools (www.naschools.org) This guide is designed to help school district leaders understand how schools can and should use evaluation as a tool for data driven decision-making and continuous improvement when implementing a CSR program.
  
  
• Evaluating for Success, 1999, MCREL (www.mcrel.org/products/school-improve/evalguide.pdf) This guide for planning, conducting, and reporting on a CSR evaluation is designed to help schools meet federal evaluation requirements.
  
  
• Using Data to Improve Schools 2002, American Association of School Administrators (www.aasa.org/cas/UsingDataToImproveSchools.pdf) This guide explains how to use various data to promote whole-school change and provides tools and insights to help schools cultivate “a district-wide culture of inquiry.”
  
  
• The Toolbelt: A Collection of Data-Driven Decision-Making Tools for Educators/Tutorial, 2000, North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (www.ncrel.org/toolbelt/tutor.htm) This tutorial walks school staff members through eight steps of using data to inform their decisions throughout the process of continuous school improvement.

Guides and Tools

• A Better Return on Investment: Reallocating Resources to Improve Student Achievement, 2000, NCREL (www.ncrel.org/csri/progtool.htm) This booklet focuses on the use of resource reallocation to promote standards-based reform.
  
  
• District Leaders Guide to Reallocating Resources NWREL (www.nwrel.org/csrdp/reallocating.pdf) This guide is geared towards school district leaders and other practitioners interested in supporting CSR through reallocating resources.
  
  
• The Resource Guide for Coordinated Funding and Programs, 1999, The Texas Education Agency and Education Service Center Region, (www.esc2.net/programs/funding99/default.htm) The Resource Guide is an extensive manual that explains how various federal and state funds can be coordinated.
  
  
• School-Based Budgeting: Your Money, Your Business, 1998, The Cross City Campaign (www.crosscity.org/pubs/index.htm) Provides excepts from the Cross City Campaign’s budget training and informational materials into a short workbook that walks through the steps of reading and understanding a local school budget and the process of building a school budget linked to a strong plan to improve student achievement. Also available in Spanish.
  
  
• Rethinking School Resources, (New American Schools) This guide presents a framework for districts and schools to use when re-examining school infrastructures to better support academic success.
  
  
• Freeing School Resources for Learning: The "Missing Piece" in Making Accountability Meaningful, (New American Schools) This resource provides insight into how school systems nationwide are seeking to place more accountability for student performance with educators at the school level.
  
  
• How to Rethink School Budgets to Support School Transformation, (New American Schools) This resource describes the typical costs associated with the selected CSR designs and offers suggestions for prioritizing and allocating resources to achieve student performance results.
  
  
• Many Programs, One Investment: Combining Federal Funds to Support Comprehensive School Reform, (New American Schools) This guide provides a useful starting point for district mangers interested in exploring alternative uses of federal funds.
  
  
• Matching Spending with Strategy: Aligning District Spending to Support a Strategy of Comprehensive School Reform, (New American Schools) This report explores how districts can realign spending to support schools in raising student performance.
  
  
• Money Matters: Rethinking School and District Spending to Support Comprehensive School Reform, (New American Schools) This publication explores how both districts and schools can rethink their spending and organization to support.
  
  
• Reinvesting in Teachers: Aligning District Professional Development to Support a Strategy of Comprehensive School Reform,(New American Schools) The authors explore options for rethinking how best to support teachers and schools in meeting higher standards.

Research

• A Case Study of Resource Allocation to Implement a Whole School Reform Model and Boost Student Achievement: Parnell Elementary School, 2000, Consortium for Policy Research in Education (www.wcer.wisc.edu/cpre/papers/pdf/Parnell%20SF%203-00.pdf) This report outlines the changes that were made through the district redesign of an urban, Midwestern elementary school, including decisions made in the resource reallocation process.
  
  
• Funding Comprehensive School Reform: Issue Paper 1998 RAND (www.rand.org/publications) This paper helps educators and policymakers understand and evaluate how CSR really impacts school resources.

• Information on the U.S Department of Education’s Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program as well as specific program requirements can be found at: (http://www.ed.gov/programs/compreform)
  
  
• The National Clearinghouse on Comprehensive School Reform (www.goodschools.gwu.edu) NCCSR is a partnership of The George Washington University, the Council for Basic Education, and the Institute for Educational Leadership. The NCCSR Web site includes a large database of research, tools, and other resources about CSR.
  
  
• CSR Contacts from each State Education Agency (www.ed.gov/programs/compreform/contacts.html)
  
  
• The Regional Educational Laboratories, funded by the Department of Education, are highly involved in the effort to assist states, local districts, and schools in making informed choices in comprehensive school reform. In addition to regional assistance, many of the Labs maintain CSR related web sites.
  
  
• The Education Commission of the States has multiple products designed to support comprehensive school reform.
  
  
• The fifteen Comprehensive Regional Assistance Centers, funded by the Department of Education, are part of a national network of organizations providing technical assistance and information nationwide. The CCs focus on two priorities, as required by ESEA: assisting Title I school-wide programs and helping local education agencies (and schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs) that have the highest percentages or numbers of children in poverty.
  
  
• New American Schools is a business-led national organization that has provided seed capital for a wide range of comprehensive school reform models and related research.
  
  
• American Association of School Administrators (AASA) is a longstanding professional organization of education leaders that supports education reform across the country.
  
  
• Rand Corporation A division within Rand, the nonprofit institution, that seeks to bring accurate data and objective analysis to the national debate on education policy.