This article addresses issues concerned with British adolescents at Key Stage 4 of the National Curriculum who have learning difficulties and do not achieve a "G" grade for the General Certificate of Special Education. Types of alternative accreditation are discussed, and implementation in three mainstream schools is recounted. (DB)

This article discusses issues that relate to building competence in educators' use of the functional behavioral assessment with students with emotional/behavioral disorders. Emerging content for FBA training is provided, including the essential skills in order to develop FBA competence, along with types of training activities that may foster…

A strong relationship is shown between students' state assessment test pass rates and students' socioeconomic status (SES). State sanctions based on assessment scores can affect graduation, student diplomas, school accreditation, school funding, teacher rewards and promotion, paperwork requirements, regulations, work expectations, improvement…

Investigated reading and writing skills of socioeconomically deprived first graders in Santiago, Chile. Found that the children had low achievement in reading and writing and at the end of the school year had not acquired sufficient linguistic competence to successfully master these skills. Also found a dissociation between observed practice and…

As the world economy continues to evolve, businesses and industries must adopt new practices and processes in order to survive. Quality and cost control, work teams and participatory management, and an infusion of technology are transforming the way people work and do business. Employees are now expected to read, write, and communicate…

Patriot High School (PHS) adopted a remediation strategy to help its 10th-grade students at risk of failing the Math portion of MCAS, the state's end of year competency exam. The centerpiece of that strategy was a computer-based instructional (CBI) course. PHS used a commercially available CBI product to align the course content with the…

At the Homestead Campus of Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC), in Florida, one barrier to fully integrating technology in the classroom was identified as the low-level of student computer skills. To address the problem, the campus undertook a project to establish a technology basic skills workshop for all students. In informal interviews to…

This brief paper for individuals interested in being qualified as educational interpreters for the deaf in Virginia provides basic information about educational interpreting and competency requirements of the Virginia Quality Assurance Screening (VQAS) program. It explains: the goal of educational interpreting; the role of the educational…

This paper describes the history of education reform in Washington State since the early 1980s. Specifically, the paper traces the educational system's transition to one based on performance and student learning. During the 1980s, education reform measures in Washington were targeted at segments of the system, rather than at the whole system. In…

In the State of Florida, the percentage of tenth grade students passing the Statewide Student Assessment Test-Part II (SSAT-II) Mathematics has declined one or two percentage points each year since 1985. Early, accurate identification and placement of these students for remedial instruction should help reverse this Florida trend. Accurate…

This study examined major characteristics of instruments commonly used in statewide teacher certification procedures and the possible relations of these characteristics to the uneven success rate among minority teaching candidates. The study analyzed raw scores and selected variables associated with 63 white female candidates who took the Georgia…

Issues in the debate over national education standards for content and performance are examined in this journal issue. Interviews with three individuals in different areas of education were held, and each is described in narrative style by Anne Turnbaugh Lockwood. The first is with Linda Darling-Hammond, director of the National Center for…

This curriculum guide for Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs lists competencies and resources for ESL and Civics instruction. Section A provides IRCA competency statements for beginning and intermediate levels of ESL instruction which integrate ESL and Civics competencies. The competencies in the…

The curriculum guide and bibliography identifies the minimum skills, knowledge, and attitudes that emergency physicians should have relative to drug and alcohol abuse and identifies appropriate educational materials and strategies for medical schools to include in their training programs. Objectives were based on 73 survey responses from medical…

An examination of the role of the associate degree in community colleges in the United States is presented in this report, based on a review of the history of the degree; surveys of community colleges, major companies, educators, and professional associations; and the work of the National Task Force on the Redefinition of the Associate Degree.…