The National High School Center's goal is to encourage researchers, policymakers, and practitioners at all levels to engage in comprehensive, systemic efforts to maximize attainment for all high school students, with a focus on those students who have been historically underserved. To this end, it has developed a framework that consists of eight…

Purpose: In the USA, as elsewhere, there is an ongoing need to improve quality in higher education. Quality improvement models from business have not been widely embraced, and many other approaches to accountability seem to induce minimal compliance. This paper aims to contend that learning communities represent a viable alternative in the quest…

This Guide is intended to share the insights of SEDL's National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Learning (the National Partnership) as well as information about both the academic and the organizational and management practices that successful afterschool programs use. The authors have organized these practices into the following four focus…

Discusses an assessment program in the geography department of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Describes the development of a senior proficiency examination. Suggests that the assessment process include development of meaningful curricular goals and strategies for implementation. Breaks the project down into phases: the search for funding,…

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…

Educators are once again called upon to resolve a national dilemma: to recognize and legitimize differences, yet construct an overarching identity that incorporates all voices into one. Strong leadership, strategic planning, and an unwavering commitment to children must be the touchstones of educational decisions. (Contains 17…

To discover the ways that superintendents describe their perceptions and beliefs regarding their roles as instructional leaders, researchers interviewed 81 California superintendents selected on the basis of continuing upward trends in student achievement in their districts over a 3-year period. The participants were divided into nine groups that…

PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) was applied to a federal project developing curriculum materials for the mentally retarded. A 34-step process lattice and PERT chart were useful for long-range planning, supervising the activity, providing accountability, and training new staff members. (Author/DB)

Beginning with the premise that all pupils can learn if given sufficient time and proper assistance, this paper discusses the efforts of East Orange Public School District (New Jersey) to develop a comprehensive system for improving school administrators' instructional leadership capabilities. The presentation's objectives are threefold: (1)…

Integration in nursing curriculum, its effect on performance of students and faculty, and its application to clinical experience, team teaching, and curriculum structure are examined. (TA)

This report finds two fundamental problems threatening higher education's ability to help America succeed in challenging times: first, the lack of recognition by state and national leaders of higher education's value; and, second, the lack of recognition by colleges and universities of their need to change. The report presents recommendations to…

Notes that criticism of the training offered by universities to future chemists is well documented. Suggests a 17-step model for the planning of a chemistry course that utilizes a competency-based training program. Explains each step and lists sample objectives. (MVL)

The dominant issues in considering the use of tests developed outside the classroom to measure the impact of curriculum reform on higher order thinking are reviewed by a panel interviewed for this discussion. Panel members are: (1) Stuart Kahl, (2) Robert Linn, (3) Senta A. Raizen, (4) Lauren Resnick, and (5) Thomas A. Romberg. It is conceded…

There exists much research and theoretical literature on school restructuring that is of interest to policymakers, practitioners, and educational researchers. In this publication, a bibliography of journal articles, manuscripts, and books is provided that divides the literature into five areas. Section 1, "General References on School…

The Catalyst project at Indiana University sought to increase awareness of research ethics questions among the faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates, and to develop and disseminate instructional materials. The participating departments were biology, history, and psychology, representing, respectively, the natural sciences, the humanities,…