Discusses the development of content and student performance standards in 8 core curriculum areas (math, science, civics, history, geography, the arts, English, and foreign languages) to help meet goal 3 of the national education goals, which states that by the year 2000 students will leave grades 4, 8, and 12 having mastered challenging subject…

Assesses the value of looking at reading scores of cohorts of children to identify different changes in attainment. Analyses the reading standards of seven cohorts of Year 6 children from five British primary schools. Highlights the increasing numbers of poor readers and decreasing numbers of very good readers in upper-level cohorts. (DSK)

Discusses geographic naming with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology. Highlights include the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) online database; United States Geological Survey (USGS) national mapping information; the USGS-Microsoft connection; and panoramic maps and the small LizardTech company. (AEF)

Suggested resources for planning and creating curricula in disease prevention and health promotion in medical schools are grouped into three categories: (1) national initiatives (such as the "Healthy People 2010" and "Put Prevention Into Practice" programs); (2) teaching immunization (including materials for physicians and nurses); and (3) key…

Comparison of core skills efforts in Germany and Sweden shows that both use vocational training to foster core skills and key competencies, but they try to integrate it with existing structures rather than make radical long-term changes. Employers play a crucial role but need substantial incentives. (SK)

Describes the evaluation of the Fighting Back initiative, in which communities across the country receive funding to combat alcohol and drug use. The evaluation has been designed to be responsive to national policy agendas and local community contextual differences so that it yields important insights at both levels. (Author/SLD)

Traces 30 years of academic library instruction innovation, including the creation of the first conference on Library Orientation at Eastern Michigan University in 1971 and the LOEX (Library Orientation Exchange) Clearinghouse. Particular attention is paid to information literacy project activities in the national and international environments.…

Explores economic aspects of a national electronic reserve service using Ithink Analyst, a modeling software package. Describes the model, which was based on developments within the United Kingdom higher education community; considers copyright clearance and digitization; and concludes that economically this service does not compare favorably with…

A survey was conducted to investigate public library directors' use of the Federal-State Cooperative System for Public Library Data and the Public Library Data Service reports. This article highlights the uses directors made of statistics and the aspects of statistics that they found particularly useful. (Contains 51 references.) (Author/AEF)

The development of a national youth work training package in Australia began over 15 years ago. The current package sits under the umbrella of the general Community Services Industry Training Package. The first stage of a review of this package has been completed and the subsequent report not only confirms the recent trend towards the…

Between 1999 and 2003, the Western Massachusetts Writing Project experienced a series of changes that made it question whether it could survive as a writing project site. The convergence of retirement, unexpected death, and withdrawal of long-term financial support forced the existing leadership to develop a process to look deeply into the work of…

This report summarizes major initiatives, activities, and accomplishments of the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (NOICC) and its network of state occupational information coordinating committees (SOICCs) during their 1994 and 1995 program years. The first part of the report contains the following: an overview of the…

This paper provides an overview of the education system in England and of the government's policies for the education service. The paper offers a summary rather than a comprehensive guide for England only. There are some similarities with other parts of the United Kingdom, but there also are some differences with Scotland, Wales, and Northern…

This directory lists the over 1,500 members of the Network of Colleges and Universities Committed to the Elimination of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. The member colleges and universities are listed by state and within each state section listed alphabetically by institution. The listings show addresses, institution presidents, and contact persons with…

This document provides a summary of the 1987-1988 legislative and administrative changes made by the Australian Commonwealth government in social security and community services, employment, education, family law, immigration, housing, and health. (DB)