The Head of Upper Nidderdale High School in North Yorkshire shows how a small 11-16 comprehensive can provide a common core curriculum and a choice of options that keeps career doors open. (Editor)

Many of the curricular reforms of the last decades merit continuation, it is argued, even if formal evaluations are difficult to establish. Self-regulation through internal audits and consultant review are seen as safeguards for the quality of innovative programs. (Author/MLW)

Distinguishing between two types of test questions, constructed-response (essay/completion) and selected-response (multiple-choice/true-false), the author considers both in relation to the specificity of learning outcomes being tested, the use of criterion or norm-referenced measurement, and the formative or summative nature of the evaluation.…

Commenting on the preceding article, pages 8-13 of this journal issue, the author critiques Mason's assessment of the utility of selected-response and constructed-response test questions. (SJL)

Described is a two-semester, first year graduate level course offered at the University of Notre Dame on mathematical methods in chemical engineering. An unusual characteristic of the course is that the lectures are given on transparencies shown by an overhead projector, the students receiving printed copies of the transparencies. (BT)

After recognizing the problem areas in business education and the need for reexamination of goals and directions which would emphasize career education, the authors present a model to stimulate thinking about a core curriculum approach for business education that is in conformance with career education goals. (HD)

Describes outcomes of the K-6 Core Knowledge curriculum at Crooksville Elementary School. Core Knowledge was developed in the late 1980s by University of Virginia Professor E.D. Hirsch, who says that the "learning-how-to-learn" philosophy has produced generations of children ignorant of world history, geography, and literature. Some…

This contribution to "The Visible College" column considers the question of expanding the Master's in Library Science (MLS) program to better prepare students for future participation in the library profession. Benefits include exposure to core curriculum, opportunities for specialization, forming alliances with and taking classes in…

Dilemmas and tensions regarding curriculum decision making in teacher education are examined. A proposed way to treat curriculum decision making in light of the Holmes Group's recommendations for educational reform is discussed, suggesting adoption of a set of guiding conceptions about teaching-related phenomena. (SM)

Describes the anthropology department of Beloit College and the relationship of its own program to the educational mission of the small liberal arts college to which it belongs. Explores program alternatives such as multiple sections of interdisciplinary courses, judicious use of prerequisites, and cross-listed courses. (JS)

True educational reform is the creation of a renewed identity at the school and classroom level when teachers and students interact in new, more productive ways. This article describes California's educational reform movement, presents evidence of successful change, and identifies where continued work needs to be done. (TE)

Discusses the shift in core curriculum materials from printed textbook formats to electronic formats. Highlights include cooperative learning; teacher-student interaction; multimedia-based programs; changes in the media development process; different versions of the final product; new revision schedules; and permission to use visual images, sound,…

Introducing cultural diversity into the core curriculum need not be political. Traditional departmental structures could be reconfigured to incorporate third world studies at the introductory level and within the scope of traditional core courses. Interweaving non-Western studies with existing curricula is preferable to putting them in courses by…

Study looked at the amount, kinds, and development of required writing tasks in courses taken by elementary teachers educated at Eastern Montana College. Instructors for 61 courses were interviewed. Results showed that reflective writing assignments were minimal and that 33 percent of the courses had minimal to nonexistent writing requirements.…

The curriculum conference is a specific, practical strategy for deliberative curriculum problem solving at the district or national level. This article explains the deliberation method and its two important characteristics, argumentation and interaction. An analysis of all three decision-making processes in one such conference showed that…