Contains 19 standards for basic writing programs, covering teaching and learning, support, and program evaluation, developed by the Committee on Writing Standards of the National Council of Teachers of English for the United States Office of Education. (DD)

Argues that questions of standards and core curriculum are irrelevant to the real issues of learning. (Editor)

Accreditation of recreation, leisure services, and resource curricula at the BA and MA levels is now a reality. (JD)

Delaware, the District of Columbia, and New Jersey have spent past three years developing math standards and frameworks with guidance from state and local stakeholders and national standards efforts. Evaluation of these states' progress concluded that reform efforts are limited, unless new assessments are aligned with standards. Professional…

Describes new standards set by the International Reading Association and National Council of Teachers of English. States that the new standards reflect the best of current research and theory about how students learn to be powerful users of English language arts. Provides details about the new standards, including how they were revised from their…

Describes standards-based instructional reform efforts at the Greenfield Middle School, a suburban school on the outskirts of Bakersfield, California, after becoming an Immediate Intervention for Underperforming School Program school in 1999. (PKP)

Discusses five aspects of higher education assessment: institutional and program accreditation, commercial rankings, the National Research Council's effort to assess research doctorate programs, the Association of American Universities' (AAU) revised membership policy and its evaluation component, and an AAU project seeking to develop better…

While rankings are a popular method for comparing the relative quality of higher education institutions, there is much confusion and debate over which indicators to use and how to present the information in ranked format. This article offers some guidelines in both areas as well as questions to consider at each stage of the ranking process.…

Illustrates how curriculum-based measurement (CBM) can be used to establish academic growth standards for students with learning disabilities in the area of reading. An introduction to CBM and to the basic concepts underlying the use of CBM in establishing growth standards is provided. Issues and conclusions about appropriate methods for…

Part of a special section on the issues and procedures involved in data-based decision making in special education. An annotated bibliography of articles and books that relate to the theme of the special section is provided. (GCP)

Explores how Ronald Williams, the president of Prince George's Community College, is bucking tradition in hopes of raising his institution's profile. Discusses how his focus on excellence over access has caused some controversy. (EV)

Explores how current concerns about quality assurance, standards, benchmarks, and performance indicators in higher education apply to the assessment of doctoral/research degrees in Britain, and in particular to the viva voce (oral) examination. (EV)

Demonstrates that fiction can stand as a form of scholarly writing by blurring the genres of scholarship and fiction. (RAE)

Suggests that the authors of the Standards for the Assessment of Reading and Writing seek standards as an essential tool to work for just and fair educational opportunities and outcomes. Argues that that faith is misplaced because standards, rules, or laws cannot change biased minds. (RS)

A war rages over outcome-based education. There is one primary reason for the OBE backlash: the mastery outcomes are often vaguely worded and associated largely with the affective domain. Supporters'"Aquarian" and "Nostalgist" fallacies do not help. A twofold policy embodying high, uniform, but sensible standards and…