The quality of the academic standards in America's public schools is one of the pressing issues on the minds of parents and the public. This document, the second annual report by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), examines how many states are committed to setting common academic standards and analyzes the quality of the standards against…

The quality of the academic standards in America's public schools is one of the pressing issues on the minds of parents and the public. This document, the third annual report by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), reports on how many states are committed to setting common academic standards and analyzes the quality of the standards against…

Designed as an avenue of communication for mathematics educators concerned with the views, ideas, and experiences of two-year college students and teachers, this journal contains articles on mathematics exposition and education and regular features presenting book and software reviews, classroom activities, instructor experiences, and math…

Intended to assist institutions in understanding and preparing for evaluation by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), this handbook compiles the commission's policies, procedures, and standards. Section 1 describes the DETC and its Accrediting Commission. Section 2 answers such questions as why become…

Beginning in the mid- to late-1980s, state policymakers began to rethink their strategies for influencing curriculum and instruction in public education and adopted a policy strategy known as standards-based, systemic reform. This issue of "Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) Policy Briefs" examines how standards-based, systemic…

A discussion of the status of German second language instruction, particularly at the postsecondary level, focuses on the role of standards, curriculum, and testing in increasing interest in and support for foreign language education. A substantial decline in German enrollments in the first half of the 1990s is noted, and possible reasons are…

These arts standards represent a consensus concerning what every young student should know and be able to do in the arts. The Consortium of National Arts Education Associations believes that every student at every level, pre-kindergarten through grade 12, should have access to a balanced, comprehensive, and sequential program of instruction in the…

This publication presents the American Federation of Teachers' 10 criteria for high-quality public school academic standards and seeks to contribute to the national debate about school reform, academic achievement, and world-class educational standards. The criteria are: (1) standards must focus on academics because the purpose of setting…

The Board on Testing and Assessment of the National Research Council convened a workshop in 1994 to help policymakers and others better understand the complex issues emerging from the standards-based educational reform movement. This bulletin synthesizes the workshop discussions. It is organized around four major themes that emerged from the…

Drawing from a review of the literature and direct experience, this paper discusses key issues in developmental mathematics placement. First, the controversial practice of mandatory placement is examined, citing research results that support the practice and those that do not. Next, the diversity of developmental math placement standards is…

The purpose of this booklet is to illustrate and compare three important levels of expectation, or standards, that have been set for diploma examination writing in English 33 in Alberta, Canada: "3 Satisfactory,""4 Proficient," and "5 Excellent." The booklet presents exemplar papers that were used to illustrate the…

Most current writing about American public education describes it in terms of a crisis situation. However, schools often serve as scapegoats for the failure of other institutions and for social ills that they had no part in creating. This book presents a collection of essays and commentaries on recent proposals for educational reform and actions…

This ERIC digest discusses the National Standards for Civics and Government for students from grades K-12. The Standards are organized around five central questions dealing with the following subjects: (1) the nature and necessity of government; (2) the foundations of American constitutionalism; (3) the functioning of American government and the…

A national survey of trends in college grading practices was conducted in 1992 by gathering data from college registrars. The survey instrument, which had been field-tested, was sent to registrars at 2,302 institutions and responses were gathered from 1,601 (70 percent response rate). Among the general findings were the following: (1) 97 percent…

The paper advocates a closer working relationship between classroom teachers and the university faculty in the following areas: (1) teacher preparation for the classroom at the undergraduate level; (2) revision of some of the graduate training in history to focus more on pedagogical concerns, along with the content of history; (3) greater…