This paper describes the implementation of the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), a systemwide reform that calls for curriculum change at senior secondary levels in Victoria (Australia). The system is required to reorganize and develop new organizational structures with full knowledge and assessment of the status, organizational health, and…

The International Baccalaureate (IB) program, in which students in the last 2 years of high school can earn a diploma recognized for university admission throughout the world and for course credit at colleges and universities in Canada and the United States, is described. Information about the program is provided in the following areas: (1)…

Presenting a portrait of a high school literature classroom, this paper gives a detailed, evocative characterization of what one particular and well-regarded high school literature teacher actually does in her classroom. The paper describes how the teacher-researcher chose a colleague whose experience and expertise were generally thought to be…

Based on two national assessments of the writing proficiency of representative samples of students in grades 4, 8, and 11 conducted during the school years ending in 1984 and 1988, this report assesses the informative, persuasive, and imaginative writing performance of the nation's students and tracks changes in performance over time. The first…

A study examined the poetic conventions of rhyme, meter, and diction to determine whether central tendencies and differences in evaluative response at various stages of late childhood and adolescence were discernible. Data were gathered from students of four grade levels (5, 7, 9, 11) enrolled in New York City public schools (359 students in all).…

This report analyzes and describes the results of survey research conducted with teachers, curriculum consultants, instructional television specialists, and others regarding the instructional effectiveness and the uses of "Understanding Taxes," a taxpayer education program aimed primarily at high school students. Written surveys were mailed to…

Today's young people must cope with a shrinking planet earth; deal with complex human relationships and the dynamics of explosive social and technological change; and function in a world which has few precedents especially in the area of social change. This thesis delineates a practical methodology for teaching high school anthropology based on…

The New Mexico High School Proficiency Examination (NMHSPE) assesses the extent to which New Mexico students have mastered the skills and knowledge specified on the New Mexico Basic Skills Plan. The test includes an objective portion and a writing assessment. A student passing both sections receives a diploma endorsement from the State Department…

To evaluate the writing skills of Colorado students under the Educational Quality Act of 1985 (commonly known as the 2 + 2 project), a study administered writing tasks to a statewide sample of third, sixth, ninth, and eleventh grade students in the spring of 1987. A narrative or story-telling writing task was administered to 2,000 grade 3 students…

A mathematics program was developed and implemented at the Jefferson County (Ohio) Joint Vocational School to raise the mathematics functioning of special needs students by using interactive computers. Special needs students were pre- and posttested with the Wide Range Achievement Test, Arithmetic section. The 11th-grade students functioning at…

The Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP) Grade 11 Test is designed to measure proficiency in four subject areas including English, mathematics, social studies, and science. This guide for science is intended to provide a description of the way in which specific skill areas are assessed on the LEAP test and instructional considerations…

This paper describes the characterization of a student's framework of heat and temperature, and the development of a microcomputer-based laboratories (MBL) intervention program for grade 9 and grade ll students. The report presents the results of classroom study, including interview questions and answers and pretest/posttest, from experimental and…

This guide is intended for use in teaching a course in electronic communications systems. Class activities during the course examine the processes of creating electronic signals and transmitting various coded messages to other locations. Methods of changing the form of electric current are emphasized, and the latest techniques in data processing…

This guide is intended for use in teaching an introductory course in manufacturing materials and processes. The course centers around four basic materials--metallics, polymers, ceramics, and composites--and seven manufacturing processes--casting, forming, molding, separating, conditioning, assembling, and finishing. Concepts and classifications of…

This guide is intended for use in teaching a course in the sequential tasks that change a designer's idea into a completed product. Emphasis is placed on the design of a product and the manufacturing system needed to produce it. The first two sections discuss the guide's development within the framework of North Carolina's efforts to improve…