Argues that, no matter how good and well-intentioned new curriculum and assessment reforms are, they will fail unless there are real-world consequences that motivate students to work hard in school. Educational systems fail because what students want, i.e., college admissions, jobs, and job training, are disconnected from school work. (GLR)

A required core contemporary history course is proposed for Europe's senior pupils, needed because of prospects for European integration. The course could be shaped by pairing three fundamental ideas with related conflicts: Reformation/30 Years War, Enlightenment/French Revolution and Napoleanic Wars, and Nationalism/World Wars I and II. (IAH)

Discussion of high school graduation requirements for students with disabilities focuses on legal and practical issues including graduation standards, minimum competency testing, and termination of services. Recommendations are offered to help school districts establish a process for graduating students with disabilities within the legal framework…

Philadelphia schools were the first to engage all 200,000 K-12 students in meaningful service-learning activities aligned with district academic standards and learning goals. This has meant providing professional development for 6,000 teachers, forging partnerships with 2,500 community experts and agencies, and developing an efficient evaluation…

The verdict in the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) case undermined the concept of educational equity by equating it with sameness. Testimony was excluded that revealed bureaucratic processes creating new inequities: overemphasis on test preparation and manipulation of students' grade level designations to artificially improve…

A Sacramento County district successfully combines rigorous standards with civic values and service learning, requires both algebra and geometry, and helps students pass the high school exit exam. The community has been involved in raising standards and developing accelerated learning programs at all 29 elementary schools. (MLH)

Discusses implications of states' requiring use of high school graduation exams. Finds testing requirements already blocking thousands of students from getting diplomas required for college admission, and complicating colleges' efforts to recruit black and Hispanic students. At the same time college officials praise tests for helping ensure that…

For decades, educators have wrestled with how to handle the increasingly diverse religions of an increasingly diverse student body. Sometimes, the line between church and state--what schools can and cannot do under the Constitution--can feel confusing and slippery. Today, religion has become a subject one high school teachers describes as even…

"Bridging the Gap: Intergenerational Appreciation" is an educational partnership between community residents and high school family and consumer sciences (FCS) students in the Cornwall-Lebanon School District in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. The program provides 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students opportunities to be actively involved with the…

The ninth recommendation in ACTE's high school reform position statement is to move beyond "seat-time" and narrowly defined knowledge and skills. United States high schools operate on a well-established set of expectations for size, time of day and seasons of the year that programs and classes are offered, how instructional material is…

In February 2005, Achieve and the National Governors Association sponsored a National Education Summit on High Schools at which governors from 45 states, business leaders and education officials addressed the preparation gap that leaves many high school graduates unprepared for success in college and the workplace. The Summit helped focus the…

"Education Week" provides a weekly review of state and federal K-12 education policy news. In this issue it offers detailed data on graduation rates across the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and in the nation's 50 largest school districts. The analysis is based on the Cumulative Promotion Index developed by Christopher B. Swanson, the…

In 1993 Wicklein conducted a study to determine the present and the future critical issues and problems facing the technology education (TE) profession. The Wicklein study questioned 25 panelists from 15 states and the District of Columbia to ascertain the issues and problems facing TE. However, in the Wicklein study, only seven of the panelists…

This 1995 report presents information on the progress that Tennessee has made toward its 26 educational objectives for preschool through graduate education. It examines the following four areas: (1) the extent of duplication in elementary-secondary and postsecondary education; (2) the extent to which high-school graduation requirements are…

This guide, which is intended for classroom teachers, supervisors, and administrators throughout Alabama, contains the minimum required content (core program) for public school instruction in marketing education in grades 7-12. Presented first are the following: introduction examining the mission, purpose, goals, and structure of marketing…