Discussed are the problems faced by the arts in an era of inflation and the back to basics movement. (KC)

Discusses the relationships between fiscal stress in California public schools after the passage of Proposition 13 and high school curricular changes. Reports that school staff and parents interviewed in California's Big Eight districts perceived reduced course offerings in similar areas and understood the intimate ties between financial pressures…

Discusses recent curricular and instructional reforms, collectively called basic skills restructuring, that have developed in urban schools. Discusses these reforms as a response to various crisis tendencies in the operation of schools by dominant power groups. Discusses the causes and effects of top-down curricular reform initiatives. (JS)

The California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE) allows a 16-or-17 year old who passes it to leave school as early as age 16, with parental permission, earning the legal equivalent of a diploma. The exam focuses on basic reading and computing skills. In this study, a variety of findings are reported. School districts have a budgetary…

The Arlington (Virginia) Better Beginnings Coalition hired one full-time and one part-time employee to provide outreach services to out-of-school pregnant teens and teenage mothers. A career development specialist worked with outreach personnel and coordinated structured weekly prevocational training. Cooperating agencies identified 55 young women…

This report addresses specific problems that urban-oriented colleges and universities face in meeting the educational needs of the urban poor and disadvantaged, and explores what is being and can be done about these problems. Six programs funded by the Ford Foundation are described. Four of these deal with basic skills and related services. They…

Responses by various University of Alberta offices to recommendations of the Senate Task Force on Mature Students are detailed. "Mature student" is used to refer to students 23 years old or older. Attention is directed to: support services (library, offices, bookstore); choice of courses in the evening; residency requirements;…