Many states have adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which emphasize "deeper learning" skills, such as mastery of core academic content, critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration. But can the new tests being developed to align with the CCSS be used to promote deeper learning and high-quality classroom instruction?…

The Hewlett Foundation commissioned RAND to review research about the effects of assessment and to summarize what is known about assessment as a lever for reform. To explore the likely influence of new assessments on teaching practice and the conditions that moderate that relationship, researchers conducted a series of literature reviews. The…

School districts annually receive between 100 and 200 requests from outside groups to distribute information, raise funds, and add new units of instruction. Administrators should document the situation in their own districts, examine the procedures currently in use to handle requests, and design new ones if necessary. Contains a sample policy,…

Basic to good leadership is a repertoire of management skills providing a productive climate in which teaching and learning are facilitated. The elementary principalship requires well-trained, intelligent individuals with the necessary human, conceptual, and technical skills to lead groups of professionals and students into rich educational…

Borrowing from Madeline Hunter, school districts should define staff development as school- or district-wide efforts to improve the quality of teacher decision-making. This article outlines a six-step process (including needs assessment, brainstorming, strategic plannning, communicating plans, coaching for effectiveness, and periodic monitoring)…

This sequel to the study, "New Perspectives on Curriculum Implementation" (1981), was desgiend to ensure that curriculum planners have ready access to concrete planning strategies for effective curriculum implementation at the local level. In the first section, a review of the literature offers users' and organizations' perspectives on…

A survey of 479 graduating seniors from three different high schools reveals the majority of the students were not adequately trained in study skills. Includes a copy of the survey questionnaire. (MD)

A curriculum of "Special Topics" for workplace education programs was developed. Project staff took into account former participants' suggestions and recommendations for workshop topics and brainstormed ideas for inclusion into the curriculum. Both commercially produced and instructor-made materials on stress management, communication…

This paper discusses the five components of preschool program planning. The first component involves reviewing information about child development, developmental characteristics of young children, and the specific needs of children and families enrolled in the program. The second component involves formulating goals that reflect the philosophy of…

Presents a rationale for providing computer literacy training to preservice teacher education students; identifies 14 areas of training needs and their instructional activity foci; discusses four distinct approaches to provision of a continuum of computer literacy experiences; and illustrates suggested instructional-objectives syllabi and…

This paper argues that a precondition for good studying and learning in undergraduate study is a reasonable student workload. Ways in which workload can be measured, in advance of presentation, are outlined. Suggestions on how to regulate student workload and some implications for curriculum and course design are presented. (GLR)

This paper advocates a more active role for administrators in curriculum supervision, claiming that two of the most neglected areas in supervision are the content and the amount of time allocated to that content and its objectives. An essential task of curriculum supervision should therefore be to make sure that content and corresponding time…

This document describes how an adult basic education (ABE) program in Pennsylvania conducted a study skills training course to teach 54 parents how to help their school-age children with their homework. Parents also participated in informal follow-up throughout the school year. Evaluation of the program showed that it was successful both from the…

Of the 48 members of the Commonwealth, 28 have a population of under 2 million. This handbook is intended for senior personnel in ministries of education in small states, including those with responsibility for the management of personnel, finance, and physical resources. Major themes related to educational administration in small states are…

This synthesis of research findings translates investigations in instructional leadership into a working model for practitioners--principals, assistant principals, teachers, and others. Three kinds of research--theoretical, practical, and ethnographic--are used to develop a model based on six interrelated functions of instructional leadership,…