A national consensus has emerged around the educational expectations for all students. Rigorous standards for college and career readiness developed by state leaders have been adopted by 44 states and the District of Columbia. State leaders have formed two consortia that are designing new assessments to support these standards. This shared…

Five years after the Virginia Tech massacre prompted a student in Texas to start a Facebook page in favor of the right to carry concealed weapons on college campuses, the resulting group, Students for Concealed Carry, has advanced its cause. In more than a dozen states, legislation has been introduced to allow the carrying of concealed firearms on…

Tucked away in a 1,200-page bill now in Congress is a small paragraph that could lead distance-education institutions to require spy cameras in their students' homes. It sounds Orwellian, but the paragraph--part of legislation renewing the Higher Education Act--is all but assured of becoming law. No one in Congress objects to it. The paragraph is…

Compelling empirical research shows that a positive and sustained school climate promotes students' academic achievement and healthy development. Not surprisingly, a positive school climate also promotes teacher retention, which itself enhances student success. Yet the knowledge of the effects of school climate on learning has not been translated…

Backers of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) based their support on the belief that teachers and administrators primarily were responsible for low levels of achievement by America's poor. But this one-sided view is both inadequate and unsupported by the evidence. The author argues that harsh social policies and the pernicious effects of poverty are more…

School districts, individual schools, and education policies all contribute to student achievement. But it can be argued that the most important contributing factor is the quality of the teacher in the classroom. Evaluating teacher quality is complicated, yet it has become even more important with the testing and assessment focus of No Child Left…

There is a federal law passed recently by U.S. President Bush and Congress that requires school districts to develop wellness policies and have them in place by July 2006. The wellness mandate, which was included in the Child Nutrition Act of 2004, requires all school districts which are participating in federal school meal programs to develop a…

In this article, the author discusses the impact brought about by the "No Child Left Behind" Act (NCLB) on school funding. Because of changes in the funding formulas, most of the increased funding will go to districts in which the highest number of poor children reside. Districts which are less impacted by poverty will lose funding. The…

This article discusses several bills that would amend President Bush's No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. A scan of the last-minute proposals gives some indication of the issues that will be addressed. Democrats were most concerned about money: More than half of the bills which remained called for increases in federal aid. Several would have…

In this article, the author discusses the present academic situation of middle schools. Middle schools are gaining the reputation of being the "wasteland" of American education, a perception bolstered by the accountability measures under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act. When the act was just getting underway, about 18% of all Title I…

This article describes one unconventional elementary school teacher's frustrations with colleagues doubting her competence, intelligence, and sense of purpose as a teacher. In her classroom, she never used textbooks or had a teacher's desk. There were no contests, gold stars, or redbird reading groups. There were no school-supply decorations,…

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, the 2001 reauthorization of President Lyndon Johnson's Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, symbolizes all things good and bad in education. While its basic concepts--accountability for results, research-based education programs, increased parental options, and expanded local control and…

In this article, the author describes how the schools are dealing with issues that used to be the responsibility of parents and others in society. In recent years, school boards have taken on some of the services like breakfast and lunch programs, health care, and before-and after-school programs among others. Schools are asked to provide basic…

It is readily apparent that testing raises academic standards at both the state and the federal levels. The three Rs currently touted as aims for school improvement--rigor, relevance, and relationships--can be applied to testing as well. The connection between standardized testing and rigor can be easily made, while the relevance of testing is…

According to Senator Daniel Akaka, sponsor of the 2004 Credit Card Minimum Payment Warning Act, 45% of college students are in credit card debt, with an average debt of US$ 3,000. Moreover, 150,000 young adults between the ages of 18-24 declared bankruptcy last year. In this article, the author describes how financial literacy can educate young…