Quality Middle Schools : Open and Healthy

This book is the result of nearly two decades of research and development into providing educational researchers with a set of reliable and valid measures to study the nature of middle schools, and practitioners with a set of tools to evaluate their school climate with an aim towards organizational improvement.

Building on 20 years of careful research and real-world testing, the authors show administrators how to assess their school′s health. The goal is to improve middle schools by making sure the "culture" is right for all groups - students, teachers, staff. The authors call their measurement tools the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire Revised for Middle Schools, for tapping the openness of a school′s professional interactions, and the Organizational Health Inventory for Middle Schools, for capturing the health of interpersonal relationships in schools. The "climate" questionnaire and the "health" inventory are included in the book - both are ready to copy and administer. These measurements are user-friendly and easy to interpret; scoring directions are clearly explained. Educators can use the openness (OCDQ-RM) and health (OHI-RM) to view, describe, and improve the nature and quality of their schools′ culture and climate. The OCDQ-RM and OHI-M measurements can help administrators and staff better understand their school′s professional development needs. School leaders, especially superintendents and principals, can use these hands-on tools to understand what′s going on in their schools - and then make changes as necessary. Actual case studies demonstrate how the questionnaires can be used to make every middle school a high-quality and positive learning enviroment.