Northern Michigan University and the Marquette Area Public Schools are working collaboratively to improve both K-12 education and teacher education. Through several cooperative ventures, students and teachers in both institutions are benefitting from increased professional collaboration, becoming allies to reform and renew education. The main…

In recent years a movement has developed at the high school level to address issues of cost and educational improvement through Proficiency-Based Credit Assessment (PBCA). With PBCA, students can receive credit by demonstrating their proficiency without actually taking a course. A national mail survey conducted by the Utah State Office of…

This monograph describes 12 urban middle schools in 5 school systems as they work to apply the characteristics of successful communities to education. In some of these schools, racial segregation has been and continues to be a major feature. The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation (New York) has awarded grants of $400,000 each to school systems in:…

Consultations with and written submissions from practitioners and administrators provided the basis for this overview of adult basic education in Victoria, Australia. Based on the findings, recommendations were formulated to allocate new funds to improve programing. The recommendations center on these issues: (1) the need for greater understanding…

Educational testing is at a decisive moment, as the issue of standardized testing has become one of the most hotly debated education issues of the decade. The accuracy and relevance of standardized tests have been questioned by many researchers, evidenced in the 20-year report of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. There is general…

The California Academic Partnership Program (CAPP) is a state-established and state-funded program involving public schools and both public and private colleges. CAPP funds curriculum development and diagnostic testing partnerships in accordance with its goal of developing cooperative efforts to improve the academic quality of public secondary…

This report presents information on the progress that 45 of the largest urban school districts, which comprise the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS), have made toward 6 basic educational goals in the form of several indicators. Indicators of progress on the six goals for the year 2000 are as follows: (1) increased achievement (districtwide…

This newsletter issue focuses on the directions school/college partnerships need to take if they are to contribute to a genuine reform of American education. It begins by explaining what each sector gains, then briefly describes current models, and highlights programs that can serve as guideposts. It concludes with a discussion of how policymakers…

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) was established in 1987 and charged with the mission of improving the quality of teaching and public education. The National Board certification system involves three critical elements: (1) standards setting; (2) assessment instruments; and (3) professional development. This Digest…

This paper outlines the issues involved in an assessment of the extent and success of the integration of academic and vocational education. It develops questions that could be addressed to state and local education officials to assess the effects of the 1990 amendments to the Carl Perkins Act on both state policies and local practices. Section I…

This literature review focuses on the school-to-work transition, especially as it relates to school reform. The dual focus of the review highlights issues surfacing from research and evaluation of theory and practice in the field, as well as review and evaluation of programs that fall under three types of school-to-work transition reform…

This study examined academic literacy (the reading, writing, and verbal demands on students) as a foundation for a collaboration between high school and university faculty designed to ease transitions by students from secondary to postsecondary education. The 3-year project was conducted at an urban public university that enrolls approximately…

This document contains 20 research papers on vocational education: "Multidimensional Evaluation of Long-Term Effects of Complex Teaching-Learning Arrangements--in the Context of Commercial Education" (Frank Achtenhagen); "Toward the New Vocationalism: Critical Perspectives on Education and Work" (Debra Bragg et al.);…

This evaluation report describes program implementation, computer acquisition and placement, and computer use during the second year (1991-92) of the Utah Educational Technology Initiative (ETI). In addition, it discusses the various ways computers are used in Utah schools and reports the opinions and experiences of ETI coordinators in the 12…

The seven narratives in this document were drawn from the reflective writings of administrators of color involved in the Nevada Project LEAD. Six school principals and one district administrator describe experiences they have encountered in managing ethnically and racially diverse elementary and secondary schools in Nevada. The first and last…