Teaching students to act as citizens significantly enhances preparation for college and career. It is incumbent upon the National Council for the Social Studies to provide guidance to states and local districts to develop social studies standards to achieve this goal. The recommendations presented here focus on the principle that standards…

Five years into the Common Core initiative, researchers and the general public are interested to know whether and how the standards are "working." In this introduction to the special topic, I discuss the state of the literature on these questions and offer suggestions for what I view as the most important work moving forward.

In their article, "The Common Core is a Change for the Better," Gardner and Powell (2013) make an argument in support of implementing the Common Core to improve teaching and student learning. They opine the Common Core will enable students to become more college and career ready and state the Common Core standards will provide…

Although writing plays an important role in the academic, psychosocial, and economic success of individuals, typical writing instruction and assessment in the United States generally does not reflect evidence-based practices. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) place a great deal of emphasis on written expression and may encourage an increased…

This webinar explored how the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) provide an instructional framework to support professional growth and inform teacher evaluation systems for science instruction. This Q&A addressed the questions participants had for Dr. Wilson and Jody Bintz following the webinar. The webinar recording and PowerPoint…

Discusses the significance of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act for theater and other arts educators. Presents comments of several theater education teachers, leaders, and arts advocates regarding the enactment of Goals 2000. (RS)

Although competency based education (CBE) offers solutions to some educational problems, it is not a cure-all. Problems with CBE include emphasis on output rather than the instructional process itself, over-reliance on occupational competencies and behavioral objectives, a tendency to lower academic standards, and the difficulty of implementation.…

Among teachers, initial cynicism toward reform proposals has given way to support. Teacher organizations, especially the American Federation of Teachers, have played an important role in encouraging this positive response. However, teachers remain wary of the reform movement, feeling that some of the proposed reforms would be detrimental to their…

According to advocate Robert J. Marzano, standards are the only policy mandate that can significantly improve student achievement. The standards identification process was clumsy, but started a national conversation about desirable subject-area knowledge requirements. Standards content should be cut by two-thirds; teacher-made tests can be…

This document contains resolution text adopted by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) in July 1998 regarding Redesigning Low-Performing Schools. A Question & Answer section follows the resolution, addressing the following issues: (1) Union support for redesign or closure of low-performing schools; (2) Indicators of low-performing schools…

This brief report states that legal problems with competency testing have been more procedural than substantive-more concerned with implementation than legitimacy. The right to notice is the most straight-forward and firmly established principle to emerge from competency testing litigation. Students must have fair warning and opportunity to…

Discussions about whether to implement associate degrees in British Columbia (Canada) date back to the mid-1970's, with the debate focusing on transfer arrangements and the viability of community college diplomas. One of the first acts of the British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer, created in 1988, was the recommendation to create an…

Laredo Junior College (LJC) is a comprehensive community college in Texas, serving a student population that is 93% Hispanic and 61% female. In response to evidence that LJC was not adequately preparing students with the basic and academic skills needed to transfer, LJC expanded and restructured its assessment, placement, and remediation programs.…

The convergence of two apparently opposite theories of urban educational reform is analyzed as it occurs in three middle schools in a New York City school district. The first theory, emphasizing small schools of choice, promotes close relationships between students and adults in distinctive school programs. The second--centralized, standards-based…