This paper, commissioned for the development of the national report, "National Excellence: A Case for Developing America's Talent," examines current state policies, regulations, and legislation concerning education programs for gifted and talented students. The paper also looks at other state policies which have a direct influence on the…

Schools and school districts throughout the nation are developing and implementing educational programs designed to improve teaching, learning, and school management. This report provides a description of how schools and school districts in various parts of the country are developing and implementing improvement programs, based on their own…

Guidelines and activities to assist Iowa secondary school language arts teachers in integrating state-mandated nonsexist, multicultural education can be adapted by teachers in all states. Course descriptions are provided for four courses: a freshman core literature course, introduction to the novel, great books, and mass communication. Several…

The trends in post-industrial society toward decentralization, diversity, and individualization, with emphasis on synthesis rather than analysis, require educators who are more flexible, adaptable, and capable of managing diversity; this can prove advantageous to small and rural schools, which have long been using such a philosophy. Educators will…

A historical overview and analysis of the decentralization process in Victoria, Australia, is the purpose of this paper. The case study illustrates the impact of conflict between political and administrative agendas on attempts to implement the government-initiated policy decision. The current two-tiered system is composed of central and local…

This report presents findings of a 1985 national study of the local school board. Information was gathered from case studies in nine major metropolitan areas, questionnaires administered to over 200 school board chairpersons, and literature on board governance. Chapter 1 offers an overview and questionnaire results. Chapter 2 summarizes major…

This report represents the beginning of an effort by chief state school officers to compile information systematically on the states' educational programs and to report that information regularly to the public and their policymakers. This year, the report emphasizes demographic and fiscal background information bearing on the states' education…

The paper provides an overview of the educational system in Japan, focusing on revisions made since World War II to realize the national commitment to free, compulsory, and equal education. Efforts taken to balance nationally established academic requirements with local and regional needs are given special attention. The information is presented…

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 consolidated numerous federal programs into the education block grant and shifted primary administrative responsibility to states. States have to develop a formula to distribute 80 percent of their block grant funds to local education agencies, which have virtually complete discretion in deciding the…

The Utah Commission on Educational Excellence was created by the Utah State Board of Education to recommend improvements in the quality of education and the efficiency of schools. This report begins by summarizing the commission's 27 final recommendations for significant change in the Utah education system. These recommendations look to a system…

This report contains state-by-state information on educational policies related to science and mathematics education at the elementary and secondary levels. The information was collected through the cooperation of the State Network on Science/Mathematics Indicators, which includes professional staff in each state department of education. The…

This document describes the basic education program for the state of North Carolina, as revised by the North Carolina State Board of Education. The first section describes a fundamentally complete program of instruction that would give the student a thorough grounding in the following areas: the arts, communication skills, healthful living,…

In 1984, the New York State Regents issued an action plan calling for changes in curriculum, high school graduation requirements, and educational standards. Histories of school reform indicate, however, that state legislation alone cannot successfully or permanently improve educational practice. This essay therefore surveys the history of federal…

This monograph reports on an exploratory investigation of the impact of minimum competency testing on local schools. The implementation and impacts of test requirements in three Missouri and four Ohio local school districts are studied through interviews with teachers and administrators and through the analysis of written materials on the test and…

Three big-city school systems nearly went bankrupt in the 1970s. New York City, including its schools, ran out of money; Cleveland closed its schools for long periods to conserve funds; and Chicago's schools ran out of credit. This paper narrates these crises, examines the responses of state governments and teacher and custodian unions, and looks…