Significance of the Study
Globalization and national economic interests call for American schools to
examine secondary programs and preparation standards for graduates. The American
Diploma Project (2004) concluded,
America must re-establish the value of the American diploma
that will require the creation of an inextricable link between
high school exit expectations and the intellectual challenges
that graduates invariably will face in credit-bearing college
courses or in high performance high growth jobs (p. 1).
With low graduation rates and higher demands, public schools are slow to change.
Public school systems are traditionally monolithic and hierarchal resulting in their
insensitivity to change (Provus, 1971). Schools that embrace innovation and reform
embody more unique characteristics that allow for a climate of change. The most
prevalent 21st century educational models have occurred in private or charter schools that
have these characteristics. The decentralized and loosely regulated charter schools have
the most appropriate organization system to foster innovations and reform efforts. Yet
public schools are controlled by federal and state accountability standards that have
dictated the curriculum and direction of priorities.