In this 12th edition of its flagship annual survey of college general education curricula, "What Will They Learn?," American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) shines a light on the wide disparity in academic standards at institutions of higher learning across the country. "What Will They Learn?" reviews the core curricula…

In the United States, colleges and universities have traditionally undertaken the important task of preparing citizens to participate fully and effectively in the civic, political, and economic spheres of the republican system. They have done so by joining a general education curriculum--common to all students--to an area of specialized knowledge,…

Ten years ago, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) gathered data on 100 colleges from the U.S. News & World Report's annual list of "Best Colleges and Universities." ACTA questioned whether these elite institutions were requiring their students to take rigorous, college-level courses in the core areas crucial for…

"What Will They Learn?"™ evaluates every four-year public university with a stated liberal arts mission as well as hundreds of private colleges and universities selected on the basis of size, mission, and regional representation. All schools in the "What Will Will They Learn"™ study are regionally-accredited, nonprofit…

In the fiercely competitive, global job market, solid preparation in core skills matters a lot. Will college graduates write with the clarity, grace, and accuracy that employers (and everyone else) expect? Will they have the basic mathematical and scientific skills--regardless of their majors--that equip them to navigate an increasingly…

More than ever, students need to engage with mathematics concepts, think quantitatively and analytically, and communicate using mathematics. All these skills are central to a young person's preparedness to tackle problems that arise at work and in life beyond the classroom. But the reality is that many students are not familiar with basic…

The indicators in this edition of Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe cover a number of issues at the heart of contemporary thought and discussion in Europe relating to foreign language teaching. They address the degree of linguistic diversity in European schools and the need to provide appropriate support measures to pupils…

Holistic education attempts to bring education into alignment with the fundamental realities of nature. This book argues for adopting a holistic educational curriculum. Chapter 1 offers a rationale for and description of holistic education. Chapter 2 reviews the philosophic contexts of the transmission and transaction positions--atomism and…

This second edition of "Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe" contains 44 indicators in five chapters entitled "Context," "Organisation," "Participation," "Teachers" and "Teaching Processes." It has been produced in collaboration with Eurostat and belongs to the "Key…

This state-by-state profile of community colleges offers a brief overview, by state, of the following trends and statistics for the nation's 1,173 community colleges: (1) Number of public, tribal, and independent colleges in the state; (2) credit enrollment; (3) student characteristics; (4) average faculty salary; (5) full-time employees; (6)…

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003 is the most recent in a very ambitious series of international assessments conducted in nearly 50 countries to measure trends in mathematics and science learning. The aim of TIMSS, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, is to improve the teaching and…

This is the fourth in a series of technical reports that have dealt with issues surrounding the possibility of national value-added systems for primary schools in England. The main focus has been on the relative progress made by students between the ends of Key Stage 1 (KS1) and Key Stage 2 (KS2). The analysis has indicated that the strength of…

This report looks at the extent to which it was possible, using data from 1994 and 1995, to provide value-added scores for schools in three Local Education Authorities (LEAs) in England. The number of terms students spend in school and their academic progress are reviewed, and the responses of the LEAs to the summary of issues related to…

This book is an appraisal of the teaching of foreign languages in the 29 European countries taking part in the Socrates program. It contains a detailed analysis of the way teaching is organized, the approaches and content of curricula, arrangements for the recruitment and training of teachers, and the initiatives developed within the education…

In six chapters and 118 tables with interpretive charts, this annual report presents data on the American educational system, including its students, its personnel, and its larger social context. Among its many findings are that Hispanics and students in central cities showed the highest dropout rates; that almost as many female as male high…