Used two national studies from the early 1990s to compare the likelihood of students earning high school diplomas among states that had adopted various approaches to performance accountability starting in 1993. Most sampled students who were 10th graders in 1990 earned high school diplomas, but the likelihood of this varied among states with…

Hyperrationalization in educational policy creates problems in the imposition of standards by centralized authorities and pursuit of efficiency through standardized tests, based on the assumption that education can be routinized and mechanized. A humanistic alternative is to make students the focus of educational policy and practice. (Contains 33…

Examines the influence of current standards-based reform upon science education policies and practices within urban schools. Identifies four negative effects of the reform movement: (1) undermining urban teachers' professionalism; (2) eroding teacher-student relationships; (3) diluting the science curriculum; and (4) disparate instruction based…

Describes how Wyoming developed and implemented content standards, benchmarks, and performance standards (state standards) in health and physical education. The effort involved Wyoming's health/physical education coalition member plus three University of Wyoming faculty members with expertise in health, physical education, physical education…

Examines current conceptions of science achievement in major reform documents in the context of standards-based and systemic reform. Reviews documents on science content standards, performance standards, and the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Presents an aggregated view of science achievement in terms of science content…

Introduces the Standards Impact Research Group (SIRG) which investigates the effect of principles and standards on both policy and practice from a research perspective. Describes the rationale for creating this committee. (Author/ASK)

Offers practical suggestions for implementing the National Council of Mathematics Teachers' (NCTM) Standards related to classroom discourse. Presents examples of discourse from various mathematics classrooms. (ASK)

Argues, in the context of national concern about standards in writing, for a reconceptualisation of the teaching of writing that acknowledges both the significance of the writer's voice and the need to teach about how written texts create meaning. Considers how young writers need opportunities to express their ideas and support in developing…

One area in which educators can get a good return on their time investment is helping collaborative teams focus on and become proficient in developing local classroom assessments for all students in the same grade or course. Six steps to working collaboratively are described (e.g., analyze state and local curriculum guidelines, establish…

Relates standards for mathematics education in North Carolina to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' (NCTM) "Principles and Standards for School Mathematics". Reports on a symposium attended by educational leaders in North Carolina to inform them of the NCTM standards. (Author/MM)

Describes electronic resources designed to illuminate the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' (NCTM) "Principles and Standards for School Mathematics". Provides a vehicle for further discussion of the vision put forth in the Standards. (Author/MM)

Summarizes an interview with professional mathematicians Judy Roitman and Alfred Manaster, members of the writing group for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' (NCTM) "Principles and Standards for School Mathematics". (Author/MM)

Argues that performance-based pay for teachers, spawned by the standards movement, will have a deleterious effect on students' education and teachers' careers. Also discusses origin of a system of administration termed New Public Management and its influence in shaping political support for standards-based education and performance-based pay.…

This article examines recent trends in environmental education (EE) and argues that its institutionalization within general education works against its own socially and ecologically transformative goals. EE emerged as a cultural response to international awareness that human beings were negatively impacting their environments and causing…

Technology education as a profession is in a tenuous situation. With budgets becoming increasingly tighter, schools across the country are forced to make tough decisions regarding which programs will be supported and which will not. If technology education programs cannot demonstrate a tangible relevance for today's students, they will quite…