The collegial focus and high school students' achievement

The authors examine the consequences of teachers' collegial social relations for high school students' mathematics and science achievement. They present a growth model for achievement that incorporates student, teacher classroom, and department effects. Particular attention is given to mechanisms of collegial social control. Using data from a national sample of 52 public high schools and some 3,000 students, they found that when departmental faculties form collegial foci-that is, when they present a combination of communication density, intensity of instructional practice norms, and consistency of practice-the effects of their instructional practices on students' achievement growth intensify.