While there are theories about how to close the achievement gap between black students and their white peers, what you need is the real low-down from frontline educators who know what works. Here's a book that gives you that plus a whole-school plan for raising the achievement of these chronically underserved students. Drawing from her work with…

Defines curriculum as a written organizational plan used for conscious decisionmaking to enhance student achievement and promote responsible social behavior. All written plans for Red Bank (New Jersey) Schools, including testing, scheduling, and budgeting, become part of this curriculum. Workable plans need a sound structure and constant revision.…

This article discusses the relation between instruction prescribed by standardized commercial curricula and reading achievement of mainstreamed students with learning disabilities. An instructional template for use with these curricula is described and its results examined. Limitations of generic instructional procedures adapting mainstream…

The enrollment growth of Japanese language courses in U.S. K-12 classrooms has resulted in a strain on delivery systems due limited teacher training programs, materials, and standardized tests. A new Johns Hopkins/College Board project to develop a national curricular framework is described. (LB)

Calculators are transforming mathematics instruction, freeing it from an arithmetic-driven curriculum. They have encouraged teachers to think more carefully about what is important to learn. Calculators should be used at all levels of instruction and on tests, including standardized exams. Meaningful educational reform depends on such a change.…

Suggests that whether U.S. education is a catastrophe depends not on whether students can answer questions on the Standard Achievement Tests (SAT) but on their ability to survive in the modern world. Stresses that the challenge to the social studies is to teach students to integrate their learning not to play the testmakers game. (NL)

Discusses Pennsylvania's Tests of Essential Learning Skills (TELS) program. Suggests avoiding "teaching the test" by implementing a program to improve reading and math skills across the curriculum. Offers strategies for promoting reading skills in social studies class. Describes structured overview, anticipation guides, level guides,…

The essays in this collection consider the meaning of authentic assessment and the implications of its use. "Section 1: Assessing Assessment" includes the following essays: (1) "The Nation's Report Card Goes Home: Good News and Bad about Trends in Achievement" (Robert L. Linn and Stephen B. Dunbar); (2) "Budgets, Politics, and Testing" (Chris…

At Santa Fe Community College, the development of a biology course and departmental final examination was accomplished in the following stages: (1) faculty reached consensus on course content, major objectives and sub-objectives; (2) faculty contributed final examination questions corresponding to the 10 major course topics to a pool for review…

How art education has evolved to become similar to academic subjects and the art education movement trend toward core curriculum membership (CCM) is the topic of this paper. The approach to art testing methods is used as an example of how qualification, accountability, and predictability of learning outcomes are being employed to legitimate art…

This course guide aids university professors in doing research to develop a course in scientific and technical French. The course is intended to aid students in developing communicative skills in French in the context of science and technology. The course introduces students to the culture of France as well as to its industrial and technological…

Considers questions relating to the introduction of particle physics into post-GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) courses. Describes a project that is producing teacher and student materials to support the teaching of particle physics at this level. Presents a proposed syllabus for a particle physics module. (KR)

Examines the style and content of evaluating student achievement in arts education. Considers student and teacher roles. Advocates formative rather than summative evaluation. Outlines Bennett Reimer's seven modes of interaction with the arts, seeking a vocabulary of arts assessment. Cautions against standardized testing in the arts. (KM)

This book provides a guide for English language arts teachers in grades 6-12, demonstrating how students learn and how beliefs inform behavior. It promotes a student-centered and inquiry-based teaching philosophy. Seven chapters focus on: (1) "Education Begins with Philosophy" (e.g., belief shapes perception, curriculum in traditional and…

Written by an interdisciplinary group of experts in education, psychology, sociology, and other fields, this landmark handbook provides a thorough examination of U.S. secondary education from the private academies of Colonial America to the comprehensive high schools and alternative schools of today. This accessible compendium is a treasure trove…