Clarifies the differences between two different approaches to the reporting of National Assessment of Educational Progress results using standards: anchor levels and achievement levels. Identifies critical issues related to the use of these approaches and provides a balanced view of their advantages. (SLD)

Describes how to teach rock climbing to elementary school students using balance dome cones, which are small, cylindrical- shaped cones that are rounded at the top, seven inches in diameter, and four inches high. Students step on the cones as they explore and discover their balance limits in various unnatural movement positions. Individual and…

Examines the interaction of large-scale mathematics assessments and standards efforts in the United States. Considers standards developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), and the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). (Author/MM)

Five useful tools developed by Connecticut consultants can help teachers make sense of standards, design classroom activities, and differentiate achievement levels. These include the sentence diagram, a roll of the die, the mannequin (wardrobe metaphor), Twenty Questions, and the four-rung ladder exercise. (MLH)

Provides a chronology of college presidential efforts to deal with conflicts related to reconciliation of academic mission and athletic success through development of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) initial eligibility academic legislation. Analyzes these efforts in terms of maintaining congruence within the constituency-based…

How can we enhance activation? Studying should be a challenging, yet rewarding activity for students who intend to graduate. The Flow theory (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990, 1997) predicts that differential levels of perceived challenge and skill (flow) are related to optimized mental states and increased activation. However, the influence of concurrent…

The National Standards movement seeks to raise the quality of the American educational system. According to one of its chief architects, Diane Ravitch (2000), national standards give clear expectations for students, teachers, parents, colleges, and employers that will result in improved student achievement. Forty-nine of the fifty states (save…

Knoxville College, Morris Brown College and Barber Scotia College. These institutions are just some of the recent victims of lost accreditation--and there are others. Many historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have either teetered on the brink, suffered or closed entirely following the loss of accreditation from the Southern…

Grade inflation is a longstanding problem whose seriousness is demonstrated by a wide variety of studies of grade distributions. A few institutions have changed the information on their transcripts in an effort to account for it. Proposals to index grades have been largely unsuccessful for a variety of reasons. A simple index, the Real GPA, is…

A paradox seems to exist in educational policy and practice in England and Wales. On the one hand, numerous references to promote community are made in the aims and objectives of the National Curriculum, and throughout the curricula. On the other, trends to increase accountability and standardization through competition seem antithetical to ideals…

Ten years have passed since the publication of national standards documents in social studies subjects. Many disciplines are considering revising or updating their standards work. In the meantime, states and local school districts are preparing to revise their social studies curriculum frameworks to articulate for the provisions of No Child Left…

This paper looks back on 10 years of accreditation in Hungary, in which the Hungarian Accreditation Committee completed the accreditation of all the country's higher education institutions and their programmes. Drawing from the lessons learned, and also based on the recommendations of the external panel that reviewed its work, the Hungarian…

The Higher Education Quality Committee of the Council on Higher Education in South Africa recently carried out an evaluation of all MBA programmes offered in the country by South African as well as foreign higher education institutions. The MBA review is located within the context of the implementation of a comprehensive external quality assurance…

A non-cushioned adequate yearly progress (AYP) sledgehammer will start pounding many schools from the beginning of 2005. The AYP-failed schools that receive Title 1 No Child Behind Policy (NCLB) funds will be placed on a sanction-laden improvement track than can improve a school all the way into nonexistence.

An urban community has forced the issue to get the school that it wants and that its children rightly deserve. The indispensable feature of successful schools in a functioning democracy include creating an authentic community capable of identifying obstacles and opportunities, setting standards and expectations, and deciding how best to provide…