{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.02828054298642534, 'fraction_numerical': 0.009615384615384616, 'mean_word_length': 5.386281588447654, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Book Review of Forging Links: Effective Schools and Effective Departments

Any book that challenges the basic assumption held by many that, by the time students are in secondary school it is too late to help them, merits our attention. Forging Links: Effective Schools and Effective Departments pre ents evidence that efforts to improve secondary schools are well worth our while, particularly for students placed at risk. Forging Linkswas motivated by popular concerns that schools poorly serve the lower 30%, or “trailing edge,” of students. The study also addresses a growing concern in the United Kingdom and in the United States about poor student behavior and attendance problems. Conducted in England, this study informs American educators through an examination of both the variance between schools and within schools. Sammons, Thomas, and Mortimore believe their findings related to within-school differences may be as important as their findings regarding the comparative effects of schools. Using a sample of inner-city London schools, the authors described effective, ineffective, and mixed-effective secondary schools (Grades 7–12) through statistical analysis and case studies. In the process, they unpack the multiple layers of secondary schools by using research strategies that can benefit researchers, policy makers, and practitioners in the United Kingdom. These findings assist the U.S. educator in examining the contribution of individual departments to student learning. Forging Linkspresents a picture of secondary education and, in particular, the role of departments that has largely escaped U.S. researchers and policy makers. JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS PLACED AT RISK, 5(3), 329–332 Copyright © 2000, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.