The history of education reform is marked by numerous trends and swings of the pendulum.

A current trend in education reform is focused on setting goals and collecting data to chart the progress of a school. School reform organizations throughout the country work with school communities to help them engage in an ongoing process of improvement based on goals and data. This "cycle of inquiry," if inclusive of all of the voices within a school community, is intended to create a broad-based democratic process in schools.

In looking at the ways in which schools are organized, it's also important to consider how decisions are made, how committees are used at the school, how information is shared, and how much and how well people communicate and work together. The nature of the adult relationships and the quality of collaboration at the school filters down into the student experience, even though these interactions often take place behind the scenes.

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