According to Thomas Toch's new book, "In the Name of Excellence" (1991), the curriculum reforms of the late 1980s are being undercut by teachers' inadequate subject knowledge and unimaginative pedagogical techniques, union impediments to professionalizing teaching, and severely flawed standardized testing programs. (MLH)

Three limitations in the undergraduate degree are identified, and an approach to course selection compensating for them is proposed. The strategy emphasizes that each course should provide multiple functions in meeting degree requirements and fulfilling educational objectives. A checklist for making coherent curricular choices is included. (MSE)

Philosophy is a basic subject that should be required in high school and in college. It is an essential element in an educated person's body of knowledge, interesting in its own right at the elementary level. (MSE)

Describes several ways to view senior exhibits at an urban high school employing the Coalition of Essential Schools'"graduation by exhibition" assessment method. The coalition advocates a pedagogy combining a personalized, caring environment with a focus on student production. Judges must balance warm regard with cool, critical appraisal…

One major concern of science education reformers is deciding what and how much science should be taught. Considers the curricular implications of teaching science to provide students a background for understanding science that has yet to be discovered. (ZWH)

Surveys and site visits to four states (Minnesota, Ohio, Virginia, Washington) granting credit for vocational education toward high school graduation requirements identified policy issues: motivation, relationships, procedures, barriers/facilitators, and consequences. A suggestion was made that requirements be changed to a listing of learner…

At South Medford High School, Oregon, all seniors must complete a senior project that requires the following: write a 10-page research paper on a topic of choice; carry out a project that relates to the research; and speak about what they learned from the project and answer questions before a board of judges. Offers tips for starting senior…

The circumstances that led the University of Pennsylvania to use proficiency as the organizing principle for the evaluation of students satisfying its language requirement are described as well as the procedures that have been established to carry out the policy. (two references) (VWL)

Although North Dakota boasts the highest graduation rate in the nation at 95.7%, the state is shifting its perspective from a system of inputs and methodologies to a system emphasizing student-centered learning and performance. This article describes North Dakota's progress in consensus building, developing performance standards, revamping…

Describes modifications to the four original requirements of the foreign language program at the International School of the Americas, an experimental school located 150 miles from the Mexican border. (SR)

Discusses students classified as learning disabled in regard to foreign language requirements, since institutions are now obligated by the Americans with Disabilities Act to teach these students. Criteria on which these students are classified as learning disabled for foreign language study and granted waivers of course substitution to fulfill the…

Documents local variability in response to state-mandated reform in Maryland and illustrates the challenges of implementing centralized policy as an educational improvement tool. Discusses a longitudinal project exploring student and staff experience at five diverse high schools. Advises improvement-minded state-level policymakers to be more…

Discusses the plaintiffs' arguments, the state's responses, and the specific findings in the context of major themes of "GI Forum v. Texas Education Agency," which found that the Texas graduation test was valid and reliable and met applicable professional standards, including motive and opportunity to learn. (SLD)

Tries to clarify the ethics and pragmatics of test-based diploma denial by setting out and evaluating the two camps' positions. Notes the author's aims are taxonomic, hoping to organize a confusing array of arguments; and partisan, hoping to guide further action on these very significant debates, especially as they involve the practice of English…

Responding to demands by parents and a concern that high school was just too easy, the San Jose Unified School District (California) did away with a two-track high school system, demanded that all of its students take a college-prep course of study, and adopted some of the most rigorous graduation requirements in California. In the two-tiered high…