The school climate must nurture excellence. Staff development must support continuing professional growth. Collaboration among teachers and peer coaching are recommended. The teacher-learner interaction is focal. This kind of excellence is almost exclusively measured by standardized tests, with the implication that academic education is the primary and perhaps exclusive domain of excellence.
Recent thought focuses on effectiveness rather than efficiency in education.
This wave of reform is geared to a diverse population of students rather than only those who perform well academically. Its tools are multi-sensory learning, improved school culture, and empowerment of teachers to live and model what they believe An emphasis on process accompanies concern for methodology. Interventions focused on increased time on task and clearly aligning instruction with the assessment of basic skills and strict discipline. While this 'back to basics' has enabled schools to become more systematic, we are now seeing the limits of this viewpoint. As stated by the 1986 Carnegie report, 'We are doing better on the old goals, often at the expense of making progresS On the goals that count the most.