The California Education Round Table has been the principal organizing entity for much of the collaboration between precollegiate and postsecondary education systems in the state. A cornerstone of this system, the California Subject Matter Projects, a K-18 entity, provides discipline-specific, standards-based professional development for teachers.…

Reports on a partnership formed in 1992 to study the transfer process among and between high schools, community colleges, and universities. Describes results in terms of student flow patterns, efficiency of the transfer process, and academic performance patterns. (14 citations) (VWC)

Numerous simultaneous educational reforms and limited data prevent drawing conclusions about the independent effects of California's Proposition 227, a 2-year-old English Only initiative. Achievement scores show little benefit for English learners. Observational data indicate that implementation of high stakes testing has encouraged teaching that…

The Republican proposal to cut the federal student loan program is examined, and some of the other challenges and changes likely to be faced by higher education due to Republican politics are outlined, including appropriations for discretionary programs, welfare and immigration reform, social and economic policy issues affecting the middle class,…

Provides a concise and interesting overview of the state of higher education in Cuba, specifically focusing on geography. The interests, methodologies, and programs of Cuban geographers are similar to other countries, albeit at a truncated level due to the United States embargo. Discusses international educational exchange efforts. (MJP)

Maintains that art education curriculum actually consists of four different curricula. These curricula reflect the administration's policy guidelines, the teachers' classroom instruction, the students' interest and influence, and the effects of national competitions. Argues for a single curriculum incorporating input from the teachers and the…

Proposes an extension of the arts education/business community relationship moving beyond issues of patronage and support. Maintains that the complexity of the 21st-century economy and society will be well served by the flexibility and creativity manifested in arts education. Recommends national goals and standards for arts education. (MJP)

Defends the history National Standards as an excellent and inclusive guide to the broad topics and themes appropriate to a U. S. history course. Nonetheless, characterizes the Standards as pedagogically conservative. Recommends an alternative approach emphasizing critical thinking and interdisciplinary instruction. (MJP)

Summarizes the recent changes in the highly centralized national geography curriculum in Japan. Prominent reforms include the implementation of environmental studies in the elementary schools and a broader emphasis, across the curriculum, on world geography. In teacher education, emphasis is now placed on teaching skills rather than subject…

The forms of assessment used in preservice teacher assessment were studied through a survey of 166 colleges of education, a review of other national surveys, and a detailed examination of the policies of Alabama. The efforts made by one institution to use alternative methods recommended by the profession are explored. (SLD)

Contends that often lawmakers misread their constituents' opinions on important issues. Presents data from an Indiana survey that suggest support for the death penalty vanishes when citizens are given the option of life in prison without possibility of parole combined with a requirement of work and restitution. (MJP)

Outlines disparities in educational access, proposing reforms for equalizing opportunities to learn and examining social and economic challenges; reducing achievement gaps; inequality and achievement; the influence of funding on achievement (particularly among African American students); what matters in teaching (e.g., access to quality teaching,…

Argues that recent federal education legislation will not eliminate unequal funding, school performance inequities, and student achievement gaps that have persisted in the poorest school districts. Asserts that adequate, equitable, and targeted human and financial resources and standards are necessary, and that the slight increases in federal…

This article provides an overview of policymaking in relation to state and local district testing and accountability and concludes by identifying continuing policy issues and strategies for local implementation of standards-based secondary education that aligns with current testing and accountability policies. Governance models for curriculum…

Uses data from 39 countries to analyze how various institutional features and policies affected student performance on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. Students in countries with centralized exams, little teacher/union influence on budgets, and larger shares of private-school enrollments had significantly higher TIMSS scores.…