A small isolated school district and a large urban district, both in Washington, demonstrate the pivotal role of the district central office in implementing standards-based reform and making it work. District administrators set expectations; establish accountability measures; and provide key support for schools in the areas of curriculum…

The students in Ms. Thomas' classes are struggling with poverty, learning disabilities, behavioral disorders, transience, and home languages other than English. Ms. Thomas is struggling to understand how they are going to meet the same standards as students who don't face such difficulties. In this artilce, Ms. Thomas expresses her opinions on…

This article reports a study of parental motivation, attitudes, support, and commitment for the second year of the two-way immersion (TWI) program at an elementary school in San Bernardino, California. Findings include the unique aspects of border communities; similarities and differences between Spanish-language and English-language participants;…

In its effort to simplify the accreditation process, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education has limited the amount of documentation that a program can use to support its efforts for accreditation. With this "no frills" approach, the rubrics or scoring guides that accompany assessments provide critical information about the…

The authors describe the ways in which, as preservice and inservice teacher educators, they conceptualize balanced literacy within an educational climate that values quick fixes, standardized curricula, and high-stakes testing. They proffer a professionalized version of the work of teachers in the classroom that values, fosters, and supports…

This article offers insight into what Russian educators are facing on a daily basis as they try and find and pursue the best course of action as they attempt to create a curriculum that will address the major needs of Russian society now and in the immediate future. It presents issues related to training teachers of technology and entrepreneurship…

In a 1994 study commissioned by the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, Mergendoller, Johnston, Rockman, & Willis (1994) examined four exemplary institutions to identify their approaches to integrating technology into teacher education. A decade later, the field would benefit from a comparison of current approaches of infusing…

In Butler County, Ohio, Butler Technology and Career Development Schools (Butler Tech) firmly believes that systematic delivery of career development theory and practice integrated with academic content standards will enable students to do all of the above. Because of this, Butler Tech's Career Initiatives division delivers a countywide career…

This paper discusses the cost and purpose of regulation in the higher education sector in the United Kingdom. Higher education is changing fast, facing competition from around the world and offering new economic drive in Britain's regions. Tuition fees bring much needed investment to this growing sector. This means a new challenge for funding…

There is a curious disjuncture in the current discourse(s) on the schooling of immigrant and minority students. The official discourse, as has been communicated through the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 rhetoric and the concomitant focus on standards and assessment, says that minority children, especially English language learners…

This study assesses the impact of professional development schools (PDSs) on preservice teachers, comparing PDS and non-PDS candidates at the point of licensure. Data sources include student teaching evaluations and portfolio presentations. Statistical analyses reveal PDS candidates scored significantly higher than non-PDS candidates on aspects of…

Parental involvement is an integral component in the educational environment. Student achievement and parental satisfaction requires ongoing well-planned series of activities involving parents in "home and school based activities" to assist teachers and school administrators in the accomplishment of learning objectives and goals. These…

With all the focus on accountability, test scores, and school restructuring, educators may lose sight of the ultimate goal of education: empowering all students to attain personal and professional success when they leave school. As such, educators should equip their students, not simply fill them with data. Educators should make their classrooms…

The internship, a culminating program experience for aspiring building-level administrators, affords university faculty and mentors rich insight into the transition that occurs when interns pedagogically shift from teacher to building administrator; a transition that intimately connects classroom learning with authentic experience. Grounded in…

Instructionally supportive accountability tests (a) measure students' mastery of only a modest number of extraordinarily important curricular aims; (b) describe what is to be assessed in clear, teacher-palatable language; and (c) report each student's results for every curricular aim assessed. To determine the suitability of such assessments to…