DISCIPLINE

RESEARCH FINDING:

Schools  contribute  to their students' academic  achievement  by 
establishing,  communicating,  and  enforcing fair and consistent 
discipline policies.

COMMENT:

For 16 of the last 17 years, the public has identified discipline 
as the most serious problem facing its schools.  Effective disci-
pline  policies  contribute to the academic atmosphere by  empha-
sizing the importance of regular attendance,  promptness, respect 
for teachers and academic work, and good conduct.

Behavior and academic success go together.  In one recent survey, 
for example, high school sophomores who got "mostly A's" had one-
third as many absences or incidents of tardiness per semester  as 
those who got "mostly D's."  The same students were 25 times more 
likely  to  have their homework done and 7 times less  likely  to 
have been in trouble with the law.   Good behavior as a sophomore 
led to better grades and higher achievement as a senior.

The  discipline policies of most successful schools  share  these 
traits:

   .	Discipline  policies are aimed at  actual  problems,  not         
     rumors.  

   .	All  members  of  the school community  are  involved  in 
     creating  a policy that reflects community values and is  adapted 
     to the needs of the school.
		
   .	Misbehavior  is defined.   Because not everyone agrees on 
     what behavior is undesirable, defining problems is the first step 
     in solving them.

    	Students must know what kinds of behavior are  acceptable 
and what kinds are not.

   .	Discipline policies are consistently enforced.   Students 
     must know the consequences of misbehavior,  and they must believe 
     they will be treated fairly.

   .	A  readable and well-designed handbook is often  used  to 
     inform parents and students about the school's discipline policy.


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Performance."   Paper  presented  at the Annual  Meeting  of  the 
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