The California city of Rancho Cucamonga has been given the task of developing a 4-square-mile area into a productive venture. There is already freeway access and a cargo railroad line, but sewer lines and various other services must be added. This lesson plan stipulates that student teams, each representing a specific interest in the business…

This document reports on a 2001 Australian summit on teacher standards, quality, and professionalism. This invitational activity included approximately 50 senior policymakers, researchers, and practicing teachers who participated in two workshops involving international experts. They identified where the profession should be in relation to…

Intended for teachers, this booklet explains that the social studies Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) is aligned to the content standards and benchmarks for social studies contained in the Michigan Curriculum Framework. The booklet poses and answers eight questions dealing with a concept list (where it came from, how it is divided,…

This planning grid for teaching visual arts in grade 7 in Delaware schools outlines the following six standards for students to complete: (1) students will select and use form, media, techniques, an processes to create works of at and communicate meaning; (2) students will create ways to use visual, spatial, and temporal concepts in creating works…

This planning grid for teaching visual arts in grade 8 in Delaware schools outlines the following six standards for students to complete: (1) students will select and use form, media, techniques, and processes to create works of art and communicate meaning; (2) students will create ways to use visual, spatial, and temporal concepts in creating…

This book presents guidelines to help teachers design and conduct grading practices that help students feel in control of their own academic success. After an introduction, the 12 chapters are: (1) "Linking Grades"; (2) "Using Performance Standards"; (3) "Grading Individual Achievement"; (4) "Sampling Student Performance"; (5) "Changing Grades";…

The effects of a nearly complete standards-based system in mathematics were evaluated. The Pittsburgh Public School system, Pennsylvania, has adopted a standards-based system that has been largely put into place between 1992 and 1998. The program includes content and performance standards, standards-based assessments, standards-based instructional…

States, school districts, and individual schools have created standards that indicate what content teachers should teach and students should learn. This document suggests that in order to have substantive effect in mathematics and science classrooms, other components must be addressed and linked to the content standards which include establishing…

The purposes of this book are to help teachers understand the rationale and nature of the current emphasis on U.S. education on standards and to provide classroom teachers with guidance on the many ways the standards movement might affect their classrooms. Approaches to implementing standards may be organized into two general categories, indirect…

In 1997, the Danville City Public Schools opened four focus schools at the high school level, adding 2 more schools in the next 2 years. This booklet relates the efforts of this small urban school district to bring educational choice to its students, parents, and teachers, while having to grapple with issues of autonomy and governance, innovation…

Accreditation is a primary means of quality assurance in North American higher education. The seven sections of this handbook (an eighth will follow) explain the accreditation process of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS). The first section, "An Introduction to Accreditation by ATS," provides…

This report is the companion volume to the 1999 "National Education Goals Report," the ninth in a series of annual reports issued by the National Education Goals Panel to measure progress toward the eight National Education Goals. A U.S. scorecard is presented to summarize progress toward each of the 27 national indicators. The second…

This book explores the link between school character and school improvement. It focuses on the construction of a schooling system based on layered loyalties and shared accountability, ideas that build on local initiatives and concerns without compromising the interests of stakeholders. Chapter 1 examines the role that culture plays in providing a…

This paper examines the relationship between the grades teachers give their students and the scores external raters give the same students' work when using a common set of standards and criteria. Data were collected from 78 high school teachers participating in the Proficiency-Based Admission Standards System (PASS) project to establish standards…

The Texas State Board of Education adopted the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) curriculum to ensure that all students meet the challenges of life in the new century. The information in this guide summarizes the TEKS expectations at each grade level in the foundation areas of English Language Arts and Reading, Mathematics, Science, and…