Interviewed diverse beginning teachers in a variety of Massachusetts public schools regarding how they experienced curriculum and assessments in the face of standards-based reform. Respondents received little or no guidance about what to teach or how to teach it and struggled to prepare content and materials. The standards and accountability…

Offers a strategy from the book "Strategies for Teaching Prekindergarten Music" to help young children meet the achievement levels called for in Music Educators National Conference (MENC) Prekindergarten Music Education Standards. Explains that in the lesson provided children will become familiar with music as a medium for changing…

The recent flap over the Kansas State Board of Education's decision to drop knowledge of evolution theory from its science standards has rekindled the perennial science/religion debate in education. This article examines mutual relationships of three knowledge structures (science, mainstream religion, and fringe beliefs) and the middle-ground's…

The Georgia Preschool-Postsecondary Initiative was started in 1995 to bolster student achievement and classroom teacher preparation. Program success will be measured by increasing numbers of high-school students successfully completing algebra and geometry, raising postsecondary admission requirements, and having a qualified teacher in every…

Suggests the need for incentives to help combat the resistance or indifference regarding implementation of the national standards for foreign language learning at the university level, especially in upper division courses at large research universities. (Author/VWL)

Claims a consumerism model manifests itself in first-year composition programs. Discusses the academic situation generally and English Departments specifically to explore how the current reform movement clashes with postmodern values in this discipline. (NH)

Presents a letter to the Governor of California from a teacher who questions the appropriateness of standardized testing and teaching to the test and who recommends that the Governor become a leader in protecting, empowering, and authentically educating today's students. Concludes by recommending several books on how to enhance students' health…

Presents a study that surveyed teachers nationwide who received National Board Certification in Art. Survey questions centered on the extent to which teachers changed practice and enhanced student learning, level of support received if a higher education institution supported the application, and how universities might better support applicant's…

Standard one of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education states students should demonstrate competency in many, and proficiency in some, movement forms. This article presents recommendations to help students achieve motor skill competency and proficiency, providing task progressions for elementary students and illustrating…

Educators can develop fair and accurate standards-based grading/reporting by switching to criterion-referenced grading practices; using differentiated criteria (denoting product, process, and progress); clarifying the purpose of each reporting tool; and developing a reporting form that identifies standards, facilitates interpretation, and…

Explored strengths and weaknesses of medical education reports by analyzing ratings and written comments by reviewers. Found that the main strengths noted in accepted manuscripts were importance or timeliness of problem studied, excellence of writing, and soundness of study design. Ignoring the literature, designing poor studies, choosing…

The NCTM curriculum states that students should be able to "compare and contrast the real number system and its various subsystems with regard to their structural characteristics." In evaluating overall conformity to the 1989 standard, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) requires that "teachers must value and encourage the use…

The focus of this article is on the role that content and concepts drawn from the field of economics should play in education for self-government. How important is economic knowledge for the practice of effective citizenship in a democratic society such as the United States, and what core economic knowledge is required for effective civic…

The report card grade has come to serve a variety of purposes: (1) Substantiation for state funding; (2) A public relations opportunity to help generate positive feelings between a school and the community; (3) A vehicle used by the teacher to increase a student's self-esteem; (4) An opportunity to reward a student's likability; and (5) A chance…

Teachers face at least two dilemmas in our work to meet the academic needs of our students. The first dilemma is how to prepare our students to pass state-mandated tests without driving them away, given that many already see school as a place where they fail. The traditional "drill and practice" approach to remediation for low-performing…