With the adoption of substantial changes to Texas high school curricula in 2013 (HB5), a central question for Texas policymakers, education and business leaders, families, and students is whether and how HB5 implementation impacts the state of college readiness and success in Texas. Comprehensive research is needed to understand the implications…

Written and oral communication has been listed as the top explicitly requested skill by employers for a long time. Despite pressure from industry, the gap still exists between the expectations and average written and oral communication skills of current information technology/information systems graduates. This paper addresses the above issues and…

A preventive health education course was added as a new requirement for graduation from Nebraska high schools. Students who already know about health issues are permitted to waive the course upon completion of a special test that was derived from the six major course objectives. Results of the first administration and validation procedures are…

Increasingly involved in curricular concerns, boards of education can determine the educational goals of the community by using the Educational Goals Assessment (EGA) and thus set priorities when cutbacks are necessary. The EGA is composed of four questionnaires listing 275 learning goals describing knowledge, attitudes, or physical skills and…

Outlining procedures involved in arriving at a newly adopted curriculum for the Oak Park, Illinois, high school of which he is the associate principal in charge of instruction, the author argues the importance of developing a comprehensive vision of educational priorities before considering specific curricular components. (JBM)

Examines the reasons why a larger proportion of students are not involved in any organized music activities, stating that most schools offer only performance courses. Discusses the addition of fine arts requirements for high school graduation, and urges music educators to develop methods for including all students in their music education…

This bulletin describes the Dallas Community College District's (DCCD's) efforts to develop a common learning core curriculum. Introductory material discusses the creation of Committees for Common Learning to decide on standards and requirements for all students who enroll in degree programs at any of the seven district colleges and to design an…

"A laboratory, a studio, and a forum, a place where the rational and the romantic can exist side by side, is the way the author describes the social studies classroom he wishes to see evolve. His provocative article discusses concrete ways of educating prospective teachers to become a vital part of this setting. (Editor)

Suggests that legislative involvement in community college operations stems from fiscal responsibility. Describes the structure of higher education in Florida and the development of the College Level Academic Skills Test. Discusses the adoption and results of the Gordon Rule, which establishes English and mathematics requirements for the first two…

This document, developed by the Commission on International Education of the American Council on Education, stresses the importance of students developing the competence to function effectively in a global environment and the need for state and local governments and the private sector to support higher education's efforts toward this goal.…

This document presents the findings of the Governor of Nebraska's task force on excellence in education. Initially, a transmittal letter states the charges, findings, and recommendations of the task force. Section 1 of the report presents a preamble and 12 findings and premises. Section 2 contains recommendations in four categories: (1) curriculum…

Designed to help Wyoming school districts meet the needs of their students and communities, this manual outlines the essential elements of a well-planned, comprehensive social studies curriculum. The four components of the program, each described in a separate section, are essentials of education, fundamentals of an exemplary social studies…

This study seeks to determine how commonly-quoted values of foreign language study are actually perceived by students and professors who have taken undergraduate foreign language courses and to determine the implications this information might have for college curriculum planners. Some 177 students and professors participated in the study by…

The report offers a comparison of instruction time for beginning languages at St. Olaf College (Minnesota) and 17 other colleges and universities, and concludes with recommendations for curricular change at St. Olaf College. Contact hours ranged from 80 hours (St. Olaf) to 171 hours. The study was undertaken in response to faculty concern that not…

A series of recommendations developed by the Council of Colleges of the Colleges of General and Professional Education (CEGEP) in Quebec (Canada) are presented in this report to the Ministry of Higher Education and Science for redesigning the CEGEP's natural sciences curriculum. The proposed reforms are designed to meet legislative requirements…