Increasing governmental regulations, with their associated paperwork, are undermining the effectiveness and efficiency of community college operations. Community colleges must document the paperwork problem and must devise a practical approach to impress upon decision-makers the need for reform. (DC)

Examines trends in state financial school support in terms of increasing costs, state courts' attitudes, complications in school finance systems, national attention on local policies, and the need for policymakers to broaden their concerns. (KS)

Analysis of changes in the graduation requirements, credit requirements, and curriculum in high school English in California since the adoption of minimum competency testing by state law during the 1976-77 legislative session suggests that statewide legislative mandates can have significant impact on school district programs and priorities. (PGD)

Explains the structure of Tennessee's Career Ladder Program for teachers, with the primary focus on evaluation procedures used at the state level for identifying teachers in the top two to five career levels. Covers evaluation criteria, evaluation data sources, use of peer evaluators, and evaluation processes. (PGD)

The state of California has developed model curriculum standards for required high school social studies courses. Included here are the "Introduction" and "Organization and Format" from the history-social science section of the "Model Curriculum Standards: Grades Nine through Twelve," and the standards for the world…

Current state policies, school district practices, and higher education traditions hinder teacher professionalism. To use recent research findings on learning, teachers must have more varied opportunities and responsibilities. The science of teaching is explored. (DF)

Discusses incentives and disincentives created for local school districts by state bilingual education funding policies. Reviews the relationship between funding and bilingual education controversies centered on measuring language proficiency, establishing entrance and exit criteria, and determining effective instructional strategies. (KH)

The impact of school district resources and policy changes on basic skills performance is examined in this article. Data were collected to observe if specific policy changes, testing programs, or teacher training influence student test results. Student pretesting had the only significant positive effect on performance. (Author/DF)

With reference to current fiscal distress in California, sources of school district revenue are described, potential local revenue sources identified, and equity issues involved in increased local funding noted. (MJL)

Does the Constitution protect parents' right to pass their values along to their children? Author argues that it does, basing his contention on the language and the history of Pierce v. Society of Sisters, the landmark decision that guaranteed private schools' right to do business. (Editor/RK)

In response to questions by the editors, Dr. Bell touches upon a few current issues and challenges facing the Nation's schools. (Editor)

This paper presents part of an ongoing project on teacher's beliefs and practices in state schools and in privately owned exam preparation schools in Turkey. Extracts from an interview with a teacher who uses a technique that he disapproves of will be reported and discussed. The paper considers how the teacher reconciles his practices with his…