The most recent school reform agenda directed the development of national standards across the academic content areas to improve educational practice and pedagogy. U.S. Department of Education's (1994) Goals 2000: The Educate America Act and its subsequent nationwide implementation largely ignored the involvement of school counseling in school…

This article is a study of the social construction of school desegregation in Los Angeles, California. Particular emphasis is placed on how magnet schools were presented to area residents in the local press over a period of 3 decades. I use quantitative and qualitative techniques with 355 newspaper articles. I find that magnet schools were…

Examines educational conditions and resources, institutional characteristics, and political factors contributing to the shaping of states' educational accountability policies. Analysis of data from a variety of sources indicates that the main predictors of states' accountability policies are National Assessment of Educational Progress performance…

Throughout the modern era in the 20th century, there have been continual efforts to reform schools and make them more efficient, imitating the industrial model of standardization. However, many students were left behind in this process. Certain dimensions of teaching, like making connections with all students, were lost in standards-based…

This article provides an overview of prekindergarten mathematics as related to national standards. Included are descriptions of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics principles and standards, the fundamental concepts developed and learned in early childhood, and naturalistic and informal instructional examples. Each concept is connected…

A decade ago educators began panicking over the state of the academic system and the overemphasis on athletics in school. Consequently, an increasing number of state legislatures, state boards of educators and local school districts have taken action to limit participation in extracurricular activities if students fail courses or do not achieve…

This article describes the peer review process in Vermont. Teachers across the state learned lessons of their own in creating standards-based units based on a checklist of criteria and a scorecard. Developing and critiquing lessons helped teachers make connections, internalize, and apply the tenets of high-quality, standards-based classroom…

National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) accredits 623 of the 1,200 traditional university-based teacher-training programs; nearly 100 others are seeking accreditation. The Washington-based group, established in 1954, is a coalition of 33 organizations, including the two national teachers' unions, the American Association of…

Riordan and Noyce (2001) report that schools that used the Connected Mathematics Project (CMP) for two to three years had greater gains in math achievement overall than those in the comparison group. Riordan and Noyce do not report whether this difference was statistically significant. However, t tests calculated by the WWC using data provided by…

The Colorado Model Content Standards for Science specify what all students should know and be able to do in science as a result of their school studies. Specific expectations are given for students completing grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Five standards outline the essential level of science knowledge and skills needed by Colorado citizens to…

As the world economy continues to evolve, businesses and industries must adopt new practices and processes in order to survive. Quality and cost control, work teams and participatory management, and an infusion of technology are transforming the way people work and do business. Employees are now expected to read, write, and communicate…

As the world economy continues to evolve, businesses and industries must adopt new practices and processes in order to survive. Quality and cost control, work teams and participatory management, and an infusion of technology are transforming the way people work and do business. Employees are now expected to read, write, and communicate…

An e-mail survey was conducted in the summer of 2007 to obtain information from state supervisors of mathematics (employees of state departments of education with primary responsibility for K-12 curriculum leadership) regarding the impact of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) 2006 publication, "Curriculum Focal Points (CFP) for…

In a continuing effort to improve student-learning opportunities in mathematics, state departments of education have focused on articulating standards or learning goals at all levels, including high school mathematics. A review of K-8 mathematics curriculum standards (many of which have been published since 2002) compiled by staff from the Center…

This article critically analyzes challenges that may influence whether evidence-based practice (EBP) enjoys more success than previous efforts to improve the integration of practice and research in social work education. Key challenges include: (1) alleviating disparities in how EBP is being defined by social work educators; (2) maximizing the…