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March/April 2005

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IASB Publications
2921 Baker Drive
Springfield 62703
217/528-9688, extension 1131

• Can't buy your way out of a bureaucracy
  by Philip K. Howard
  School reform in the United States is so mired in a bureaucracy of legal prescriptions that money may not hold the key for improvement.

• Random drug testing: Will it stand the test of time?
  by Steven D. Rittenmeyer and Mathew J. O'Brien
  The latest survey of schools in Illinois that conduct random drug testing shows few districts can document evidence of effectiveness.

• Testing will continue, despite lack of data
  by Linda Dawson
  Schools that continue random drug testing do so to send the right message to students and the community, even though new studies say testing may not be an effective deterrent.

• Student mobility packs problems
  by Linda Dawson
  The constant ebb and flow of students in and out of certain classrooms and buildings has school districts looking for creative ways to deal with high mobility that can impact student achievement.
  Sidebar: Redistricting: The other mobility factor

• Mobility's impact on achievement
  by Jeffrey Rosen
  Comparing test scores and student mobility rates in Chicago Public Schools shows good reason for concern about student achievement in high mobility areas.

• Challenging message sounds eerily familiar
  by Linda Dawson
  A keynote address at the 2004 Governor's Conference on Aging carried a message similar to what school board members heard in the same hotel a month earlier.

• Orientation makes transitions easier
  by Rob Delane
  Boards of education should have a process - as well as plenty of materials - to assist those newly elected to join them at the board table.

• Practical PR: Outreach workers ease transition stress
  by Jennifer Bialobok

• Ask the staff: Craft a 'dashboard' to meet board goals