The perception of alternative school effectiveness through student and school administrator evaluation of key component

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of students and the perceptions of administrators or lead teachers of identified key components of the organizational structure of alternative secondary schools in Indiana.;The population of the study constituted 31 alternative schools in the state of Indiana as identified by the Indiana State Department of Education during the 1995-1996 school year. The research questions related to six identified key components that were identified as: (1) climate; (2) educational needs; (3) governance; (4) instruction; (5) class size; and (6) staff. The six key components were also studied in relation to the size of the alternative school, the geographical location of the alternative school, the student/teacher ratio of the alternative school, and the amount of general fund money expended per student of the alternative school.;The key components, as identified in the related literature, were analyzed using a one-way analysis of variance with significance established at the.05 level.;Based on the findings, the following conclusions are warranted: (1) Administrators were more positive about the educational opportunities presented in alternative schools than students. (2) Student and administrator mean scores for the size of the alternative school, the geographical location of the alternative school, and the amount of money expended per student were relatively stable. (3) Students in alternative schools with large student/teacher ratios identified more concerns with educational needs, governance, instruction, and class size than students in alternative schools with small student/teacher ratios.