The implementation of standards-based reform has been a goal of state policy makers for the last 10 years. States have also restructured their governance systems with the intention of distributing more authority to local decision-makers. However, even the high standards of this type of reform, and the strong incentives to encourage the change, are…

The Southwest Educational Development Laboratory produced a three-part series on the initiation of charter schools and their impact on education in the southwestern United States. This booklet marks the last of the series. It describes what early charter-school organizers in New Mexico and Texas proposed doing to create better learning…

The ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Performance Guidelines for K-12 Learners expand on the second language proficiency guidelines established in 1982 by focusing on second language use by students who participate in elementary, middle, and high school foreign language programs. Unlike adult language users, K-12…

The conceptual framework is vital in linking elements of quality assurance in teacher education. The development of professional accountability in teacher education is a continuum that links colleges of education responsible for teacher education to the state, to teachers' induction processes within the schools, to professional and learned…

This publication provides guidelines for institutions of higher education preparing an Elementary Education Curriculum Folio for review by the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI). Preparation of folios is part of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) accreditation process. The completed form and…

This report is a summary of a March 1994 meeting to agree on guidelines for making inclusion and accommodation decisions concerning students with disabilities in national and state large-scale assessments. Much of the discussion at the meeting focused on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Factors that lead to the exclusion of…

Reflecting advances in the understanding of language, learning, and the complex literacy demands of a rapidly changing democratic and technological society, this booklet provides a set of standards to guide decisions about assessing the teaching and learning of reading and writing. After an introduction that presents an overview of what is meant…

This, the second in UNESCO's series of World Education Reports, is designed to provide useful data and analysis on major current issues and trends in education worldwide. Written for a wide audience including policy makers, educators, and citizens, it provides an empirical basis for discussion of education. The main task facing education today is…

The National Research Council is coordinating the effort to develop national standards for science education. The goal is to develop, and publish by fall, 1994, science education standards that represent the consensus of teachers and other science educators, scientists, and the general public about what is important for all students to attain in…

This paper presents a summary of research on outcome-based education (OBE). The first section provides an overview of the evolution and history of OBE in the United States. Other outcome-based models are described in the second section. The third section reviews research on OBE and related concepts, including mastery learning, cooperative…

This Action Plan sets out a series of recommendations designed to support and deliver an extensive network of social, medical, and educational programs and services for children with special needs in Alberta, Canada. The plan focuses on three areas: funding for services, coordination and delivery of services, and assessing outcomes and developing…

Research studies have consistently indicated that participation in school activities benefits both students and schools. Since the school reform movement began in 1983, the importance of school activities and student time commitment to such programs are increasingly being scrutinized. This paper summarizes a study to determine: (1) the current…

"Developing Acceptable Evidence in Educational Technology Research" (Schrum et al., 2005) and its precursor editorial, "A Proactive Approach to a Research Agenda for Educational Technology" (Bull, Knezek, Roblyer, Schrum, & Thompson, 2005), are unprecedented collaborative efforts by journal editors to influence research in…

Students in institutions of higher education are, in effect, consumer of a high priced product. University continuing education is in a unique position to operationalize a warranty system with the Continuing Education Unit, which gives the student some assurance that his alma mater will continue to be concerned about him. (Author)