Considers whether National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification is as much an evaluation of teachers writing about their teaching as it is of the teaching itself, exploring two NBPTS certificate candidates' experiences, analyzing problems inherent in NBPTS standards and writing difficulties in NBPTS portfolio entries,…

Discusses whether it is fair to students when major educational decisions are made based on the results of a single high-stakes test, focusing on: multiple assessment measures, teaching to the test, testing disadvantaged children, and state standards and testing. Two sidebars present the PTA's position on the issue and how to learn more about…

The national education goals developed during the historic 1989 Education Summit became the springboard for several federal initiatives, including the National Science Education Standards. The Standards define levels of understanding and abilities that all students should develop and recognize that many groups, including principals, share…

Educators are feeling pressured to accommodate students, parents, and taxpayers to garner community support. Principals pursue customer intimacy; people are demanding their rights; and taxpayers, including aging baby boomers, are searching for bargains. American Federation of Teachers President Al Shanker finds academic standards and customer…

Neglected children need teachers who are not judgmental, moralistic, or easily shocked; who listen, understand, and recognize their own fears and prejudices; and who enjoy interacting with children and define their work as eliciting effort and growth. (SK)

Educational reformers are divided among high-standards Martians, back-to-basics Venusians, character educationists, and free-market trade experts. Meanwhile, no one discusses how to motivate bored, disrespectful students. The solution involves working to establish high academic standards without blame or standardization, to develop "merit…

Restructuring programs and reallocating resources (to smaller classes, teacher planning, professional development, and tutors for struggling students) constitute a complex, large-scale change process. Steps include recognizing the need for change, evaluating strategies, and creating a new educational strategy for all organizational levels. (MLH)

Discusses major challenges facing California's education system. By spring 2002, academic subject scores will be fed into the Academic Performance Index. Standards scores will be reported by performance levels. The high-school exit exam will be mandatory in 2004. Equity and implementation issues are discussed. (MLH)

Describes the history of and interest in integrated curriculum at the middle level. Questions how middle level educators can support and defend integrated curriculum when faced with the demands of the standards-based reform movement. Addresses support, acceptance, and academic standards of an integrated curriculum, asserting that integrated…

Describes assumptions about standards which shaped a novice teacher educator's work with student teachers and educative experiences which helped her envision an alternative role for standards in learning to teach. Standards presented to prospective teachers as vision statements allow for novices' ideas about good teaching. Teacher educators should…

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) establishes high standards for what teachers should know and be able to do and operates a national voluntary system to assess and certify teachers who meet these standards. The five core propositions endorsed by the NBPTS are listed and goals for school librarian certification are…

International comparisons of school effectiveness and outcomes have been used to suggest that British schools are underperforming and British students are underachieving, a view that permeated official publications in the 1990s. A review of some international studies and the difficulties of making international comparisons reveals no evidence of…

Presents the historical context and an overview of alternative teacher certification (ATC). Common properties include: states have installed various forms of ATC since the early 1980s, people who enter teaching via alternate routes are usually self-selecting, and alternative programs include an intern/mentor relationship between candidates and…

Discusses the implications of the recommendations in "Principles and Standards for School Mathematics" for preservice teacher preparation, the continuing professional development of teachers, and mathematics teacher certification policy. (Author/MM)

Describes several ways principals can successfully align state standards with the school curriculum. (PKP)