Notes the passing of the deadline for fulfillment of the national education goals in the United States, the beginning of the year 2000, and indicates that pressures on schools to solve social problems will continue to make school reform a politically opportune and very visible issue. (SLD)

According to the 26th annual Phi Delta Kappan/Gallup Poll, the growth of fighting/violence/gangs and poor discipline are the most serious problems facing today's schools. Parents rate their community schools highly but assign only passing grades to the nation's schools. Most favor character education and President Clinton's education initiatives…

In developing a national curriculum, ways must be found to challenge students and teachers, preserve initiative, and maintain democratic control. President Bush's New American Achievement Tests will consist of a system of examinations to be administered by individual states or clusters of states. Conversion should embody a grand,…

Asserts that the new "National Standards for Arts Education" position the arts and music as equal partners with other curriculum areas. Maintains that it is inevitable that criticism of the standards will arise. Discusses likely areas of criticism and provides suggested responses that music teachers can use to support the standards. (CFR)

The role and expectations of the arts supervisor and administrator have expanded beyond managing personnel and programmatic activities to informing policy decisions. Legislation such as The No Child Left Behind Act, signed by President Bush in 2002, exacerbated this paradigm shift. Thus, the role of arts supervisors and administrators as leaders…

Describes the efforts of the Alaska Department of Education and geography educators to develop standards based on the National Geography Standards model. Discusses the statewide public consensus process and includes a chronological table of events. Provides six sample standards and performance criteria from the Alaska 2000 geography standards.…

It is suggested that trends in federal and state policy formation are working against the advancement of second language education in Illinois. While the passage of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act at the federal level was a positive step, legislating that foreign language be part of the core curriculum, a subsequent state policy draft excluded…