The faculty's power to grant course credit assures that standards are fulfilled where credit is awarded. This power enables them to foster or to defeat an institution's policy on recognition of experiential learning as they favor or oppose its application to their respective fields of instruction. (Author/MLW)

Citing experience with declining ability in Navy personnel, Admiral Rickover calls for a redirection of the schools toward intellectual development, with improved academic standards and objective measures of student performance. He advocates a federal panel to establish model standards and tests in the basic skills. (SJL)

The author, Assistant HEW Secretary for Education, reviews some of the evidence and recommendations on declining achievement in American schools, especially the National Academy of Education report, "Improving Educational Achievement." She examines point-by-point the current proposal for a national standards panel and a national…

The experiences of an affirmative-action officer are described, including: efforts to manipulate faculty behavior, David v Goliath dimensions to job, faculty who have both created the problem and the awareness of it, academicians advancing theories of racial superiority, I.Q. tests, etc. (MLW)

Nearly all high school students in the Choctaw School System (Mississippi), which operates without a curriculum or a comprehensive evaluation program, function below grade level. Minimum competency evaluation revealed that as many as 50 percent of those entering high school need remedial instruction. There are implications for educational change.…

Educational researchers must rely on their informed judgments and assume responsibility in setting minimum competency standards to meet the public demand for quality education. There are both advantages and disadvantages of implementing, as well as not implementing, a minimum competency program. (MH)

The Republic of China has based its economic and cultural progress on a strong national education program stressing quality. AGB visitors to Taiwanese universities noted Spartan surroundings, well-equipped libraries and labs, and students intent on learning. (Author/MLW)

Charlotte Horowitz's civil rights action challenging her dismissal from the University of Missouri Medical School is examined in terms of her right to due process. The court ruled that dismissals from public educational institutions for academic as opposed to disciplinary reasons do not mandate a hearing before the school's decision-making body.…

Reports findings from the National Longitudinal Survey of the high school classes of 1972, and explores the data for implications related to equal access to college, the effect of family status on achievement and college admission, and admission criteria. (RH)

Discusses the false assumptions that indicate students are less intelligent than in the past. Topics include a historical perspective of college student problems; standards that kept all but the elite out of education; S.A.T. (Scholastic Aptitude Test) scores; social influences; the complexity of today's economy; and the importance of reading.…

After spending six years studying elementary schools of 10 countries noted for educational excellence (Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States), the authors reveal world-class standards they have identified for time-on-task, curriculum, assessment, parenting, and student behavior.…

Discusses how America can improve its educational system and student performance by creating equitable opportunities for all children to learn challenging curricula. Three problems are addressed: confronting entrenched beliefs, practices and policies; dealing with educational tracking; and working towards common rigorous standards combined with…

Focuses on a phenomena emerging from examination of a corpus of language interview data, representing a type of institutional talk evaluating the English language ability of international students for the purposes of elective English-as-a-Second-Language course placement. This phenomenon is the students' self-deprecations of their own English…

A 1995 survey of 50 state and 35 urban business-education coalitions revealed that academic standards, student assessment, educational finance, and school-to-work transition were of paramount concern. Coalitions are challenged to sustain community commitment to reform efforts and overcome fear of change. Business can help by defining needs,…

Asserts that Dewey's proposal that rich, engaged learning requires teachers to "psychologize" their subject matter, remains timely in today's education, especially given recent mathematics and science curricular reforms. The article contrasts his proposal with more subject-centered reforms, explaining how teachers must understand…