Research has shown that the traditional comprehensive high school is failing far too many students. Extremely high drop-out rates, low scores on international achievement tests, school violence triggered by alienating environments, and students who graduate without the tools they need to succeed in the workforce--all of these factors point to the urgent need for high school reform. Personalized, student-centered high schools offer an alternative environment. In these schools, all students can gain the skills and knowledge they need to meet the high standards imposed by the No Child Left Behind legislation as they prepare for successful adulthoods. Below are the essential practices of a personalized high school.

These practices are drawn from the work of a number of researchers and practitioners (see the Research Summary for each practice), but two major sources are Breaking Ranks: Changing An American Institution(1996), a publication of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and Breaking Ranks II: Strategies for Leading High School Reform(2004), a publication of the NASSP and The Education Alliance at Brown University.

View the Personalized Learning diagram that illustrates how to integrate these best practices in your own redesign plan.

• Developing a Learning Community
  The school develops a culture in which students and teachers know each other well and learning?including ongoing professional development for all staff members?is valued. Parents and other community members partner with school staff to insure that all students graduate from high school with options that lead to further achievement.

  
     What is it?    Stories    Research    Policy    Resources

• Adapting School Organization to Promote Student Success
  Administrators distribute power among the staff and students. They also encourage the adaptation of school policies and structures to meet the learning needs of students.

  
     What is it?    Stories    Research    Policy    Resources

• Standards-Based Teaching to Each Student
  Teachers use instructional methods that allow students with different skills, aspirations, and interests to succeed in meeting standards. They develop courses that form a unified curriculum, integrating academic knowledge with real-life problems and tasks.

  
     What is it?    Stories    Research    Policy    Resources

• Fostering Independent Learning
  Students learn to design pathways toward their own futures through personalized learning plans, an advisory system, and student-led conferences. These and other strategies help them to identify and achieve personal and educational goals.

  
     What is it?    Stories    Research    Policy    Resources

Breaking Ranks: Changing an American Institution

Breaking Ranks: Changing An American Institution is a 1996 publication of the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. It offers a series of recommendations that have become a guiding force for high school redesign throughout the nation. Breaking Ranks II: Strategies for Leading High School Reform (2004) was formulated from the first edition of Breaking Ranks. It outlines the need for current high schools to engage in the process of change that will ensure success for every high school student. Breaking Ranks II is intended to assist principals by providing strategies for implementing the recommendations; illustrating possible entry points or areas in which to begin reform; and profiling the successes, challenges, and results of schools implementing the recommendations.

Visit the "What is it?" section for each practice in this spotlight, and you can view the applicable Breaking Ranks recommendations and indicators.

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