This teacher guide and student community research guide unit are intended to help students learn to conduct research in their community and to communicate the results of that research to classmates and others. The unit, which can be used in conjunction with a video, helps students learn about community research, oral history, and folklore…

This paper provides an overview of the types of testing accommodations used for students with disabilities and presents arguments for and against their use. It begins by discussing student participation in educational assessments and federal requirements concerning the participation of students with disabilities. The types of accommodations are…

In this interview with New American Schools (NAS) editors, the author explains how design-based assistance to schools works and suggests reasons why it might help schools become more successful in teaching all students to high standards. Questions cover such areas as the features of the NAS effort that distinguish it from other well-known models;…

The purpose of New Jersey's Visual and Performing Arts Standards is to improve student achievement in arts education, not arts-as-entertainment, not art-assembly projects, not art-as-activity. An education in the arts requires curricular scope and sequence and the intellectual rigor of experiential learning. The Visual and Performing Arts…

This curriculum framework presents a philosophy of arts education, synthesizes current research, and sets learning standards for students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The curriculum framework's core concept is that experience in the creative process is essential for all learners, and that, in the…

This curriculum guide provides the framework for K-12 arts education program in Alabama's public schools. Content standards in the guide are minimum and required, and fundamental and specific but not exhaustive. School systems may include additional content standards and add implementation guidelines, resources, and/or activities. In response to…

This framework contains two instructional strands: (1) "Creating"; and (2) "Reflecting/Responding." Both strands have content standards and cumulative student learning expectations for grades K-4, grades 5-8, and grades 9-12. The content standards contained in strand one state that students will: (1) communicate their own ideas…

The present system of education in the United States is wasteful of human and monetary resources and is organized to deny learning opportunities to most students. Education is the biggest business in the United States, and it is the most important business because it molds the character and ability of current and future citizens. Schools should be…

This telephone survey of Kentucky beginning teachers examined overall preparation; preparation for Kentucky's new teacher standards; preparation of teachers for Kentucky's instructional initiatives; influence of teacher preparation institutions on attitudes toward school reform; agreement with beliefs underlying Kentucky's Education Reform Act…

This book is intended as a guide for reviewing core-curriculum eligibility of student athletes who have completed any portion of their secondary education in a non-U.S. educational system. Beginning with the 1994-95 academic year, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Initial-Eligibility clearinghouse will certify all…

The aim of this report is to inform policymakers and educators about the current status of key education policies across the 50 states that define and shape elementary and secondary education in public schools. The fifth in a series, this report contains policy information for the 50 states and 5 extra-state jurisdictions as of spring 1998. It…

This booklet is designed to help parents and community members answer questions about assessment in the context of the Vermont Framework of Standards, the Equal Education Opportunity Act of 1997, and other statewide initiatives. Assessment is changing in Vermont in response to new legislative mandates that call for standards-based assessment…

This report from a California task force provides recommendations to improve the quality of education for the approximately 11,000 students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing in California. It begins by discussing the educational barriers faced by students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, including the significance of regional programs and then…

This digest discusses block scheduling and it relates to teaching standards, staff development standards, and assessment standards. The standards are examined in terms of how they can be achieved through the use of block scheduling, and conclusions stress the necessity of scheduling for maximum student learning. (DDR)

Many school districts are developing assessments that incorporate both selected response and constructed response formats. Scores on these assessments can be used for a variety of purposes ranging from subject remediation to promotion decisions. These policy decisions are informed by recommendations for Minimum Passing Scores (MPSs) from standard…