Focuses on the changes caused in community colleges by open access policies and the resultant influx of underprepared students. Recommends that community colleges accept a decline in student enrollment in exchange for improvement in student achievement. (DMM)

Following a review of educational standard-setting experiences in the United States, the procedures used by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to arrive at a consensus on educational objectives are described. These objectives represent the only definitions of educational quality that are widely accepted by professional and lay…

Outlines four limitations inherent in using a minimum competency test to determine eligibility for a high school diploma and, in some jurisdictions, to determine advance to the next grade. Discusses the appropriate uses of testing in an overall program.(MP)

Suggests ways community colleges can implement the recommendations of the National Commission on Excellence in Education concerning educational content, academic standards and expectations, time use by faculty and staff, and leadership and fiscal support. (DMM)

Higher education must make as clear as possible what it intends to do, can do, and will do, and its responsibility for the admission, retention, and graduation of students, planning equal emphasis and enthusiasm on helping students achieve well-defined standards of excellence. (Author/MSE)

The primary mechanism at Xavier University for obtaining a balance between maintaining achievement standards and providing support to underprepared students is the general use of testing at the freshman level to evaluate students and course effectiveness. Traditional course content, a structured tutorial program, and standardized examinations…

Telephone surveys by the Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools found that almost half the parents surveyed had themselves attended private schools and that, in switching their children to private schools, they sought more discipline, higher academic standards, more homework, smaller classes, more individual attention, and greater parent…

Answers questions about regional accreditation: what it is, its chief benefits, whether all North Central Association (NCA) schools meet the same standards, whether all accredited schools are of equal quality, why some schools are not members of NCA, the difference between evaluation and accreditation, and the role of accreditation/evaluation in…

Addressing Glass' argument (EJ 198 842) that a lack of interrelater reliability is an inherent deficiency in the Nedelsky technique, poor rater training and the need for a group decision procedure are presented as standard setting problems. (CM)

A parody on criticism of accreditation committees and practices, directed at the profession of accounting and suggesting that accreditors may take themselves too seriously at times, encourages more modesty and self-restraint. (Author/MSE)

Introduces the University of Wisconsin-Parkside's Collegiate Skills Program which requires that students exhibit competencies in reading, writing, mathematics, library skills, and the research paper before the end of their sophomore year. Details placement procedures, course sequences, competency testing, and indicators of the program's success.…

Educators' overly romantic view of children has led them to underestimate their students, expect too little, and set aside their critical judgment. Instead, educators should act as adults toward children, by setting and enforcing standards, fitting praise to the level of performance, establishing discipline, and transmitting values. (Author/RW)

The author critiques affirmative action and compensatory education on the grounds that they (1) may incite prejudice by labeling individuals as "disadvantaged" and (2) leave unchanged the traditional academic standards which equate success with verbal fluency and memorization. He suggests that schools become open to diverse intellectual…

Disputes between school officials and students over actions taken in academic matters have increasingly become the subject of litigation. This paper addresses the question of whether academic decisions are subject to review by the courts. It takes a close look at the traditional nonintervention stance adopted by the judiciary. (Author)

This article traces the development of the Black Studies movement from the 1960s to the present, discussing the inception and impact of Black Studies programs on their predominately White universities and the changes that have occurred as these programs have become institutionalized. (SJL)