This paper addresses a decline in educational standards and discusses the role of curriculum. After defining the problem, it presents the evidence, pointing to the following factors: (1) decreasing student achievement after the fourth or fifth grade; (2) a curriculum that reflects and perpetuates this decline, e.g., by setting course requirements…

Teachers of mathematics are leading a nationwide effort to bring about a complete redesign of both school and college mathematics programs by setting new and more demanding standards for what students must learn about mathematics, as well as for what teachers themselves must accomplish as professionals in the classroom. This brief document is…

This report provides guidance and information on resources to assist elementary schools, parents, community members, and policymakers in implementing a systemic approach to standards-based education. It makes clear recommendations on how schools can achieve a coordinated system in which standards, assessment, accountability, and curriculum are…

This book serves as a resource guide to help people engage in a healthy, informed discussion of restructuring possibilities. Its focus is on creating readiness for school restructuring, which differs from both renewal and reform. Each chapter is similar in structure and designed to stand on its own. Each is short enough to be quickly read and then…

This document contains California's guidelines for serving students with severe orthopedic impairments in the public schools. Elements characteristic of well-designed programs are described in the guide's three chapters, and each description is followed by a series of questions for program evaluation. The first chapter addresses approaches to…

Several leaders in education have concluded that the United States should have some form of national achievement testing. Such tests are proposed as part of the "America 2000" education strategy. Believing that the experience of other countries will be useful to educators, policymakers, and concerned citizens, the National Endowment for…

This document lists the competencies and skills necessary for the successful transition of special education students into the work force and the community. When fully implemented by a school, these competencies and skills assist the school and the Kansas Department of Rehabilitation Services in meeting the requirements of the state law on…

The document presents recommendations voted by the Quality Education Conference III participants as the most pressing items of unfinished business in New Mexico education. Recommendations for public schools are listed under the following subheadings: curricular concerns, communication, staff improvement, and fiscal support. Recommendations for…

This monograph reviews the role played by public policy in the education of gifted students. It describes the special rule making in identification, placement, program, and accountability. These rules emerge from legislation, court decisions, administrative rule making, and professional standards. Special problems involving racial discrimination,…

This guide was developed for the Southern Regional Education Board's High Schools that Work (HSTW) program in order to help employers and educators work together to raise student achievement by making high school valuable and relevant. Its purpose is to involve employers in the HSTW effort to build community support for higher-quality learning by…

The purpose of this publication is to identify the essential components of appropriate programming mandated by Alberta Education for students with special education needs, to provide examples of effective practices, to establish a common understanding of the terminology associated with this specialized field, and to clarify the meaning of…

The purpose of this publication is to identify the essential components of appropriate programming mandated by Alberta Education for students with special education needs, to provide examples of effective practices, to establish a common understanding of the terminology associated with this specialized field, and to clarify the meaning of…

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), with the establishment and promulgation of standards for the reform of teaching and learning mathematics, has furnished the leadership and the impetus toward the achievement of a vision of affording a high-quality mathematics education for all of the nation's children. Published in March…

This guide presents a description of a typical citizens' learning network in a small-sized city in Japan, guidelines for establishing and administering a similar network, and a copy of the regulations of the citizens' learning network in Munakata, Japan. Addressed in the first part of the volume are the following topics: the nature and scope of a…

This document presents tools and guidelines to help practitioners transform their high schools into institutions facilitating community-connected learning. The approach underpinning the tools and guidelines is based on the following principles: academic rigor and relevance; personalized learning; self-passage to adulthood; and productive learning…