As accountability measures continue to increase within education, public school systems have integrated standards-based evaluation systems to formally assess professional practices among educators. The purpose of this study was to explore the extent in which the communication process between evaluators and teachers impacts teacher performance…

Around 30 percent of families across New York State now speak a language other than English at home, resulting in 240,000 English language learners (ELLs) in the state's primary and secondary schools who speak nearly 200 different languages. This report looks at New York State's redesign of policies and practices to better support the education of…

The decision to make the UK student population financially responsible for their own university education has major implications for the future of higher education provision. Chief among these implications will undoubtedly be a much stronger emphasis on the student experience, not least the experience of the teaching and learning environment.…

As has been the case throughout the history of education in the United States, the current structures and practices of U.S. schools and colleges are informed by particular ideals regarding the potential of education. Through this comparative descriptive analysis, I argue that a major reason why these ideals have rarely been realized is the way…

In this article, the author explores the implementation of the K-3 Reading First initiative and its recommendation for scientifically based reading curricula. During a time of high-stakes testing and accountability, this policy has emphasized a skills-based approach to reading and placed importance on scripted teaching models. Using data from a…

High schools need to be redesigned to meet the needs of today's youth. School administrators and teachers must engage others in the community in the enhancement of the education and development of teens. This new concept of a learning experience for youth must recognize that there are multiple teachers and caring adults and resources available…

Warns of the pitfalls in rigid performance-based teacher education programs by discussing: (1) the goals teacher education should include; (2) the dangers inherent in "teaching to the test" evaluation procedures, and learning models based on behaviorist theories, and (3) the "true" role of accountability in our educational system. (ED)

Three science educators present their views concerning competency-based teacher education. (PEB)

The Tri-Cycle Process described in the model permits for the first time an integrated system for designing an individualized instructional system that would permit a rational, diagnosis-prescription-evaluation system keyed to an accounting system. (Author)

This paper traces the rising interest in the use of modules as a means of improving instruction for teachers of reading, and examines the pressures for innovation and the results of research efforts. Acknowledging that the teacher is the key component in determining whether children learn to read successfully, training institutions are accepting…

This response to five case studies of inclusive practices for elementary students with learning disabilities identifies three difficulties with the inclusion concept: (1) its noneducational nature; (2) its displacement of the uniqueness of special education; and (3) its promulgation of bankrupt conceptions of accountability. (Author/DB)

This paper examines the concept of "outcomes-based education" (OBE), how it was developed, how it relates to other current reforms that encompass the notion of outcomes, and how it relates to students with disabilities in theory and in practice. Outcomes-based education holds that all children can learn and succeed and that schools are…

This paper describes the conceptualization and operation of a modular organized-accountability teacher training program for fourteen American Indian teacher-trainees. Indian Teacher Training Program (ITTP) graduates will be prepared to teach secondary social studies in Indian schools as well as other schools. Hopefully, these teachers will be able…