ared goals, positive school climate, school-level management, strong district and principal leadership and support, articulated curriculum and organizational structure, maximized learning time, school-wide staff development, and parental involvement. The CSRD (Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration) program was enacted by Congress in 1997. This program grants state education agencies $145 million to award to schools in the form of grants. Of this amount, $120 million was for Title I schools, which are subject to accountability. The law states that schools must meet the following CSRD program criteria:
1. Research-based innovative strategies and methods;
2. school-wide reform plans that enable students to meet state standards based on school needs assessments;
3. Ongoing, high-quality professional staff development;
4. Measurable student goals with benchmarks for meeting goals;
5. Faculty, administrative, and staff support;
6. Meaningful parent and community involvement;
7. High quality external technical support;
8. A plan for evaluating implementation and student achievement; and
9. Lists of other resources available and how to use them to coordinate services to support and sustain reform (Desimone, 2002, pp. 437-8).
A current focus on U.S. academic achievement, as reported by Trotman (2001), points out that African American children are failing school at higher rates than other students. While factors such as math disability may affect mathematics achievement and performance (Mazzocco & Myers, 2003), Trotman reported that factors linked to this problem include poverty, lack of resources, and poor communication between home and school with low rates of parental involvement. Hammer (2003) further noted that the Educational Testing Service lists factors associated with student achievement and these factors include inequalities in school, early life, and home circumstances. Minority...