The Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI) aims to stimulate sustainable systemic improvements that enhance student performance in mathematics, science, and technology in 66 Appalachian counties characterized by persistent poverty. To support this aim, a major ARSI goal involves development of partnerships among families, communities, and…

Dance, music, theater, and visual arts are everywhere in life, adding depth and dimension to the environment and shaping people's experiences, often deeply and subtly. This Arizona standards guide is based on the premise that all students will achieve the essentials level in the four arts disciplines (the aforementioned music, visual arts,…

The purpose of this writing sampler is to familiarize Delaware teachers and students with the major writing portion of the Delaware Student Testing Program. Included for each grade level (3, 5, 8, and 10) are the original prompt and an example of exemplary student work. Although the intent was to include student work for each of the rubric score…

Bringing standards, assessment, and accountability from the state down to school districts is not the right way to implement new policies. Standards, assessment, and accountability must be thought of in a holistic way, and the complexity of the issues must be recognized. Educators must welcome the demand and directive that standards be…

To provide information about states' efforts to track implementation of key provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA), this study examined: state goals for student proficiency and their implications for whether schools will meet those goals; factors that facilitated or impeded state and school district implementation efforts; and how the…

When investigators document the consequences of high stakes assessments for students with disabilities, many negative consequences are cited. Both empirical and anecdotal evidence for positive consequences of large-scale high-stakes assessments for students with disabilities were examined for this study. Multiple methodologies were used to gather…

This bulletin sets forth the results of a study of requirements for high-school graduation. It is believed that graduation requirements constitute a better index to a school's objectives than curriculum offerings, for if a subject is required for graduation, it must be studied, without regard to the pupil's desire. One of the important…

The first decade of education reform in Massachusetts focused on setting--for the first time--rigorous, statewide academic standards, establishing high-quality tests tied to those standards, and successfully implementing a graduation requirement staked to minimally acceptable skills. Substantial new state funding provided support for the goals of…

Due to the high stakes that my be attached to placement decisions, it is imperative that the placement process be as solid and defensible as possible. An integral part of the placement process is the identification and use of cut scores, the point(s) on the score scale that classify students into adjacent categories for placement decisions. This…

Discusses the academic, economic and social advantages and disadvantages of expansion of higher education. (IR)

Discusses the charge given to the National Commission on Excellence in Education by Secretary of Education T. H. Bell when he created it on August 26, 1981. Includes a summary of the report, "A Nation at Risk." (JOW)

The report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, "A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform," is criticized for overemphasizing human resource needs and economic utility at the expense of intellectual, moral, and spiritual learnings. Other perspectives on reform in the schools and in teacher education are…

A structured Delphi procedure was used to secure the informed judgments of three types of adult participants (n=170) on appropriate standards for the North Carolina High School Competency Tests in Reading and Mathematics. The feasibility of the method and the amount of agreement between groups are discussed. (Author/PN)

Four institutional/school value conflicts or dilemmas which educators face in confronting the dropout problem in high schools are analyzed: (1) public accountability vs. professional autonomy; (2) subjective vs. objective authority structure; (3) extended vs. specialized educational responsibility; and (4) diverse vs. common student work and…

At Berea College all students work 10 to 20 hours a week on campus in a compulsory labor program and pay no tuition. The college maintains high academic standards, and students often use their work experience in later employment. (MSE)