Presents a tracking model for monitoring and reporting student transitions through the college years. Develops and illustrates the model by following a mythical class of 500 freshmen and 380 transfer students from matriculation to attrition or graduation. The model focuses on sequences of semesters rather than on freshman, sophomore, junior, and…

According to Thomas Toch's new book, "In the Name of Excellence" (1991), the curriculum reforms of the late 1980s are being undercut by teachers' inadequate subject knowledge and unimaginative pedagogical techniques, union impediments to professionalizing teaching, and severely flawed standardized testing programs. (MLH)

Three limitations in the undergraduate degree are identified, and an approach to course selection compensating for them is proposed. The strategy emphasizes that each course should provide multiple functions in meeting degree requirements and fulfilling educational objectives. A checklist for making coherent curricular choices is included. (MSE)

Philosophy is a basic subject that should be required in high school and in college. It is an essential element in an educated person's body of knowledge, interesting in its own right at the elementary level. (MSE)

Describes several ways to view senior exhibits at an urban high school employing the Coalition of Essential Schools'"graduation by exhibition" assessment method. The coalition advocates a pedagogy combining a personalized, caring environment with a focus on student production. Judges must balance warm regard with cool, critical appraisal…

One major concern of science education reformers is deciding what and how much science should be taught. Considers the curricular implications of teaching science to provide students a background for understanding science that has yet to be discovered. (ZWH)

Surveys and site visits to four states (Minnesota, Ohio, Virginia, Washington) granting credit for vocational education toward high school graduation requirements identified policy issues: motivation, relationships, procedures, barriers/facilitators, and consequences. A suggestion was made that requirements be changed to a listing of learner…

At South Medford High School, Oregon, all seniors must complete a senior project that requires the following: write a 10-page research paper on a topic of choice; carry out a project that relates to the research; and speak about what they learned from the project and answer questions before a board of judges. Offers tips for starting senior…

The circumstances that led the University of Pennsylvania to use proficiency as the organizing principle for the evaluation of students satisfying its language requirement are described as well as the procedures that have been established to carry out the policy. (two references) (VWL)

Although North Dakota boasts the highest graduation rate in the nation at 95.7%, the state is shifting its perspective from a system of inputs and methodologies to a system emphasizing student-centered learning and performance. This article describes North Dakota's progress in consensus building, developing performance standards, revamping…

Describes modifications to the four original requirements of the foreign language program at the International School of the Americas, an experimental school located 150 miles from the Mexican border. (SR)

Discusses students classified as learning disabled in regard to foreign language requirements, since institutions are now obligated by the Americans with Disabilities Act to teach these students. Criteria on which these students are classified as learning disabled for foreign language study and granted waivers of course substitution to fulfill the…

New statistics reveal a slight decline in African American college student graduation rates. African Americans admitted to the most selective colleges continue to have high completion rates, while graduation rates at less selective state colleges and historically black colleges are far lower. Reasons for this difference include educational…

Documents local variability in response to state-mandated reform in Maryland and illustrates the challenges of implementing centralized policy as an educational improvement tool. Discusses a longitudinal project exploring student and staff experience at five diverse high schools. Advises improvement-minded state-level policymakers to be more…

Examines parochial schooling's effect on high-school graduation rates for older adults in the United States, based on data drawn from the 1988 and 1989 General Social Survey. There was a positive correlation between parochial school attendance and high-school graduation, but no causal relationship. (Contains 26 references.) (MLH)