Analyzes the challenges to using academic measures (MCAT scores and GPAs) as thresholds for medical school admissions and, for applicants exceeding the threshold, using personal qualities for admission decisions; reviews the literature on using the medical school interview and other admission data to assess personal qualities of applicants;…

Examines key differences among content coverage, opportunity to learn, and curriculum alignment, suggesting that the revised Taxonomy provides a framework for analyzing curriculum alignment and illustrating how the Taxonomy Table can be used to estimate curriculum alignment. The paper notes that the revised Taxonomy enables educators to probe…

Drawing on an international roundtable, presents summary principles to establish a typology of different countries' ranking of higher education institutions. The principles are intended to be of assistance in future discussions about the different benefits and limitations of ranking and league table systems. (EV)

Outlines a case of a nursing student charged with drug trafficking who was not suspended due to concern over student rights. Reviews case law that would have supported suspension. Advocates clearly defined policies and procedures that ensure due process while allowing for disciplinary action. (SK)

Standards-based reforms must include children with disabilities. Accountability standards may vary depending on whether the school practices total inclusion, partial inclusion, dual system, multiple systems, total exclusion, or system-based inclusion. (SK)

Encourages theatre teachers to take into account accreditation and assessment standards. Proposes that theatre education will continue to be marginalized in academic institutions if these standards are not considered. Concludes that it is only with a comprehensive view of their institutions that theatre teachers may place their work in its proper…

Presents arguments against discipline-based state learning standards, including their effects on learning and the limits they impose on teachers' intellectual and moral attentiveness to student development. Makes a case for locally developed standards, including the state's role. (Contains 18 references.) (SK)

A 1985 Hawaii regulation requires that students participating in athletics must have a 2.0 grade point average and pass all courses required for graduation at the end of each grading period. The PASS program at Kahuku High School was developed to keep student athletes from being academically disqualified and to help underachievers regain their…

Presents varied responses to Ramsay Selden's proposed student assessment reporting model in the same "School Administrator" issue. Opinions of the four educators surveyed range from outright rejection of score adjustment to statements stressing the importance of context and subgroup profiles. (MLH)

Reproduces, in outline form, the National Standards for Arts Education in Theater, as developed by the Consortium of National Arts Education Associations. Notes that the standards are intended to be used as curriculum planning guidelines by K-12 educators, school districts, and states. (RS)

A teacher of high school students with learning disabilities suggests that not enough is demanded of these students. He describes his classroom program, which focuses on the specific challenges students will face and the standards they will have to meet in the adult world of work. (DB)

Creation of an environmentally literate citizenry is a goal of environmental education. Examines literacy as an educational concern; discusses the establishment and identification of consensus standards for environmental literacy; and presents attributes of the environmentally literate person. (Contains 10 references.) (MDH)

Today's students need academic standards, not enhanced self-esteem. Even good schools are plagued by low standards and academic triviality. Since the 1960s, the trend has been away from authority and formal learning and toward individual liberation and free expression. The real price of this is being paid by children from disorganized or…

Examines the experiences of New York State school districts that increased student participation between 1992 and 1996 in a statewide testing program. Increased participation rates were associated with modest declines in the percentage of passing students, unchanged dropout rates, similar spending patterns, and increased staffing levels. (MLH)

Describes the battle of one English professor at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville against the special academic help provided to athletes at that institution. Notes a possible investigation by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, media attention, and the professor's proposal that all academic tutoring be overseen by an academic…