We cannot continue to define academic quality using standards set from a limited perspective and expect students from diverse backgrounds and cultures to meet them. To increase minority participation in graduate schools, institutions should better understand minority standardized test performance and better prepare minority undergraduates for…

Asserts that efforts to achieve educational reform can have significant personal and professional effects on participants in the process. Presents "Ten Verities" as a perspective on the tremendous investment that participation in the reform process requires. Concludes that, the end product of world class geography standards will justify…

Interviews with South African principals of traditionally White, Indian, and "colored" schools examined school policies and procedures about admitting students of other races and principals' views of impending changes. Five case studies represent the range of responses to integration. A predominant ideology of "racelessness"…

Discusses the proposed development of voluntary national tests in fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade mathematics. Explains that these tests will be based on the content and performance standards used in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). (DDR)

Raises the question of what elementary and secondary teachers need to know to teach mathematics and science. Outlines the kind of subject matter knowledge teachers need to learn during their higher education years in mathematics and science. Contains 44 references. (DDR)

Successive UK governments have not clarified educational standards. The Tory government promulgated autonomous grant-maintained schools. Now Labour plans to "reinvent" this sector via foundation and voluntary schools with reduced powers. A recent study found that headteachers believed grant-maintained status (and enhanced funding) helped…

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has convened a working group to address problems in recruiting, gambling, academic standards, and other corrupt practices in college basketball programs. Such problems are neither new nor unique to basketball, and changing college sports has proven to be difficult. Recommendations are anticipated…

Greece has used elements of the Commission of the European Communities' pilot projects and proposals to develop a procedure integrating three steps: a self-evaluation process culminating in a report prepared by the higher education institution or department, an external peer-review evaluation, and publication of the report. (18 references) (MLH)

Curriculum standards can help educators achieve important student outcomes. However, only through collaboration, empowerment, and leadership will meaningful school improvement occur. This paper examines the importance of (1) collaborative action research to help teachers assess and improve their own practice and (2) leadership support to encourage…

Discusses the role of the library media specialist in promoting information literacy, focusing on aligning national information-literacy guidelines to state and content-area standards. The integration of information-literacy guidelines into a Minnesota middle school curriculum is described. A sidebar presents an outline that aligns national…

Presents a lesson plan for teaching elementary and middle-school chorus in accordance with the National Standards of Music Education standard 9C, to understand music in relation to history and culture. Includes objectives, a list of required materials, a list of required prior knowledge, an outline of procedures, and evaluation methods. (DSK)

Teachers must know how to integrate technology into the classroom to improve learning; use technology to help students master content and performance standards; and know when technology is appropriate to help learning. Two sets of recently released technology standards can help school leaders develop comprehensive staff-development plans: the…

Describes how local, within-school factors at two rural elementary schools located in different parts of Kentucky influenced efforts to achieve the mandated goals of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 (KERA). Discusses the tension created by imposing generic reform measures on very different rural places. An appendix presents KERA goals.…

Provides excerpts from two thematic units, developed at the 1996 National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center at Iowa State University, that integrate language, culture, and content. (Author/JL)

To bring students up to internationally benchmarked standards, high schools must abandon the ineffective general curriculum and focus resources on a narrower, academic curriculum. Professional and vocational education should be provided in postsecondary settings after students receive certificates of initial mastery. A 12-point school redesign…