The Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP) is designed to assess progress toward the Delaware Content Standards. Every year a certain number of items are removed from the test and then selected for public release. This booklet contains items released from the 1998 administration of the DSTP mathematics component tests. Taken as a whole, these…

This guide contains information to help teachers understand and use reports from the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP). The DSTP is designed to be a measure of progress toward Delaware's content standards that helps ensure that students can apply their academic skills to realistic, everyday problems. The DSTP aims to promote better…

This monograph discusses the situation confronting education policymakers regarding growing student diversity. Many education policymakers are frustrated by the persistent achievement gap between white and nonwhite students, which is as wide or wider when it comes to top-performing students. Students are experiencing racial intolerance at school.…

This report is intended to inform policymakers, administrators, and teachers regarding the development of standards or benchmarks addressing language and literacy skills in prekindergarten programs. The report notes that although standards and benchmarks can bring clarity to what should be expected of young children, there are challenges in…

This document details the accreditation standards set forth by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The four standards are as follows: (1) Institutional Mission and Effectiveness. Each institution has a statement of mission that defines the institution's broad…

The Rhode Island Science Framework presents a rationale for the importance of science within the K-12 school curriculum; suggests ways in which science teaching and learning can be supported by the larger system; addresses issues related to science content, assessment of science learning, evaluation of a school's or district's science program; and…

Kentucky has been implementing test-based accountability for almost a decade, making it a good site for studying the effects of the milepost testing model. In 1996, a study was undertaken of the impact of standards-based assessment on classroom practices in Kentucky. Kentucky teachers (n=365) were surveyed about their classroom practices and other…

This paper identifies issues to consider as educational policy makers make decisions about diploma options and graduation policies for students with disabilities, especially in the context of the increasing use of requirements that students pass specified tests to graduate. A table compares advantages and disadvantages of four diploma options: (1)…

This paper describes theoretical, political, and practical contexts for developing standards of practice for teaching, creating a framework for career-long professional learning and establishing a set of ethical standards for the profession. It positions the work of the Ontario College of Teachers within the broader context of Ontario education…

This report focuses on the Educational Opportunities Act, S. 2, which was designed to reauthorize and improve programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 for the next 5 years. It describes the purposes of the Act's 11 titles, which focus on the following issues: helping disadvantaged children meet high standards; teacher…

In 1998, the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation reviewed state academic standards in English language arts/reading, history, geography, mathematics, and science--the five essential subjects identified at the 1998 "education summit." Because many states have changed their standards in the past 2 years, the Foundation has evaluated them again. The news is…

The New York City Board of Education has implemented a school quality review system called Performance Assessment in Schools Systemwide: Essential Elements of Exemplary Schools (PASS). The PASS process provides a set of standards of exemplary educational practice and a model for assessing schools in relation to these standards. The process is…

This study examined how six teachers in inclusive classrooms who are being encouraged to deliver reform-oriented mathematics instruction modify mathematical tasks and provide academic interventions for students with cognitive disabilities. Qualitative data for this study were collected between April and June 1999 by means of observation and…

California state law requires a sponsoring agency to determine whether charter schools nearing the end of their term should have their charters renewed. Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) was one of the first to grant charter school status, and consequently among the first to renew school charters. The district contracted with WestEd, a…

This paper examines the role played by the adoption of a stringent admissions policy in the rapid transition of a large, open-door, senior college located in a metropolitan area in the South into an institution with elitist aspirations. The discussion focuses on the impact admission policy had on institutional characteristics and its effect on the…