Examines the impetus for and impact of a high-stakes assessment plan and reform initiative, North Carolina's ABC Plan for Public Education, from the perspective of state level policymakers and local level implementers. Finds practitioners received little support for implementing the initiative, and an adversarial relationship developed between…

In May 1988, New Jersey Commissioner of Education Saul Cooperman allowed the state department of education to take over the Jersey City (New Jersey) public schools. Because of nepotism, cronyism, and overzealous fault finding, this state-school district confrontation ended ignominiously for both parties. States contemplating takeover legislation…

Illustrates with one play example, from a five-year study of mentally retarded persons in a state school setting, that the prevailing nature of educational and therapeutic practice needs to be questioned. Identifies the different levels of interpretation and form of analysis in this setting and how each influences the other. (Author/JS)

A review of the status and activities of foreign language instruction in Florida elementary schools discusses languages taught (primarily Spanish); state funding and school district programs; teacher certification; and preservice teacher education and methods courses. (CB)

Explores the assumption that Australian state school systems are too highly centralized and inflexible to cater to students' diverse educational needs. An examination of Queensland and New South Wales schools shows that system-level directives are not unduly prescriptive. Regional office staff often practice "benign neglect" of central…

Two conflicting trends in recent school reform activities are identified: a shift from local to state control and an increase in state monitoring and accounting activity; and an increasing recognition of the need for local and district involvement in school reform. Reform movement is not likely to wither, but history suggests that reform efforts…

State credit-enhancement programs for school districts lower interest costs and increase market acceptance for the bond issues. School districts receive higher bond ratings than they would have based on their own credit standings. Describes programs in 14 states that are recognized and rated by at least 1 major bond rating agency. (MLF)

Draws upon findings from research on multiracial primary schools in three English local education authorities to question how far ethnic minority support staff are treated as professionals, compared with mainstream teacher and assistant colleagues. LEAs' attempts to professionalize ethnic minority support staff (using "Section 11"…

A state takeover of a troubled school system is a drastic intervention but one that can bring about broad-based reform. After the state of New Jersey began operating the Paterson School District, the new leadership prepared a detailed plan for reform and assessed schools' effectiveness. A sidebar points out that 20 states have provisions that…

In light of declining enrollments and political pressures, this article suggests a strategic-planning approach for state-supported special schools for sensory-disabled students to evaluate their current and future roles in the education of these students and to develop a future-oriented strategic plan. (DB)

Describes how the Arizona Department of Education's rush to implement the AIMS (Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards) high school graduation exam provoked justifiable protest from parents, students, school officials, and education experts in the state. Argues that, if critics and advocates are unable to work together, it will be Arizona's…

After the state terminated funding and operation of school lunch programs, a Rhode Island school district chose to create and operate its own program. The results of the first year of operation include a 30% increase in student participation and a 33% increase in food service revenue. A concerted marketing effort and a growing catering business…

Education Queensland's Remote Area Incentives Scheme (RAIS) is intended to provide financial and other benefits to teachers who choose to accept employment in undesirable locations in the state. On paper, this scheme claims that remoteness from an urban centre is the foremost measure of a school's undesirability. However, the percentage of…

This paper argues that key education policy initiatives since the introduction of the National Curriculum in the UK are Government-mediated responses to pressures in the global knowledge economy. Successful implementation of these policies has required a change in the way in which education institutions and professionals are controlled and…

It seems that geography teaching faces almost the same problems around the world. Geography teachers try to find new methods to teach geography based mainly on pupils' experiences. This paper describes a teaching approach that focuses on what pupils think about geography. The children are asked to prepare and present a box filled with objects that…