Selecting elementary school reading program materials that will function as sharp and forceful teaching tools requires answering at least six basic questions: (1) What are the socioeconomic status, ages, and grade levels of the students concerned? (2) What do these students need to be taught? (3) Who are the resource people available and how will…

Part of a 13-volume series designed to help Lutheran communities assess the feasibility of starting a Lutheran elementary school and to assist ongoing schools in current operation, this volume enumerates the steps involved in planning such a school. The first part of the publication focuses on the feasibility study necessary when exploring the…

This consensus statement on best practices for choosing low-vision devices is a product of a 10-member expert panel which brought together a variety of disciplines as well as consumers for the purpose of synthesizing available scientific information to improve services to people with low vision. After an introductory section, the remaining…

Many recent school-reform efforts have called for increasing decision-making power at the local school level. This report examines state differences in the amount of control that public school teachers believe they have over establishing curriculum; selecting textbooks and other instructional materials; and selecting topics, content, and skills to…

The research reported in this paper identifies the "core curriculum" and "optional curriculum" suggested by widely used textbooks of elementary school mathematics and describes the influence of each on teacher autonomy in selecting the content of instruction. Preliminary analyses suggest that the "core curriculum" is generally consistent with…

A survey was undertaken in an effort to understand the basis on which some children choose mathematics and science courses and others opt out. Interviews were conducted in classrooms with 2,500 public school students in grades 5 through 11, and 1,000 telephone interviews were conducted with parents. The survey found that most students make…

A one-page introduction is followed by three pages containing summaries of three journal articles and two documents on teacher selection. Mary Cihak Jensen argues that final selection decisions should be based on multiple information sources, since teaching requires proficiency in many interrelated skills. Superintendent Richard J. Caliendo…

There are both strengths and weaknesses of using standardized test scores as a criterion for admission to institutions of higher education. The relative importance of scores is dependent on the institution's degree of selectivity. In general, decision processes and admissions criteria are not well defined. Advantages of test scores include: use of…

Females are underrepresented in courses in mathematics, science, and computer and other high technology applications. Research in the last decade has identified a variety of factors that contribute to females' lack of participation in math, science, and technology. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following: stereotypic images…