Describes the experiences of art educators participating in the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification program for early-adolescent and young-adult art. NBPTS candidates are asked to collect data on their own teaching, observe videos of their classes, and analyze their teaching through reflective writing. (MJP)

Some advocates of "all children can learn" downplay the need for adequate resources and child-friendly public policy. Educators' heroic efforts alone are insufficient. Other destructive fallacies include the principal as sole instructional leader and exception-based, uniform standards. The effective-schools movement has become too…

Lee Shulman's vision of good teaching includes nurturing students' moral and spiritual development, civic engagement, and socialization. High-stakes tests do not embody standards. When evaluating and rewarding teachers, mentoring and monitoring functions should be separated. National Board for Professional Teaching Standards improvement incentives…

This article illustrates methods by which faculty are collaborating to further understand the issue of technology integration while developing ways to use technology in their teaching. It discusses the inclusion of Technology Standards for Teacher preparation on the Web site of the 21st Century Chautauqua program at the University of Kansas. (CR)

The standards movement seeks to bridge the gap between universities and schools, smoothing the transition for student teachers from novice to professional. The imposition of standards and close monitoring of learning outcomes potentially violates the affective bond between student and teacher and the teacher's commitment to education. Resolving…

A Maine study found that homework often disrupts family life, interferes with parents' own teachings, and punishes children in poverty for lacking computer access and/or a supportive home environment. The standards movement requires teaching in a more tightly controlled system, leaving no room for homework, an unknown variable. (Contains 13…

Recalls a previous attempt, via the Committee of Ten, to set national academic standards in American high schools 100 years earlier, describes the effort's defeat, and explains how the objections raised then are much like the ones being raised today. The author argues that the need for national academic standards is more urgent now than ever…

This article describes results for students with mild disabilities who participated in the Kansas science assessment involving cooperative groups. Individual achievement, attitude, and project scores were consistent with expectations in relation to results for general education students. The study did not find that participation of students with…

A Nebraska district surveyed parents' reasons for sending their children to private or Catholic schools. Reasons could be grouped in categories: concerns and issues (such as religion) that public schools cannot address; and concerns (such as discipline, values, curriculum, and academic rigor) public schools could address by changing their programs…

The national context in which occupational standards and National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) have been developed is described. NVQ methodology is explained, and issues arising from NVQ implementation are outlined. Developments in accreditation within the contexts of counselling and psychotherapy and guidance for learning and work are…

A number of ethical principles and values that underpin occupational and professional standards are identified, alongside particular ethical positions that may be useful for clarifying ethical decisions. The paper is divided into three sections: (1) identifying occupational and professional standards and values; (2) an exposition of popular…

Ontario's Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) is an independent agency, answerable to the public, created in 1995 in response to input from educators, policymakers, parents, students, and citizens to do large-scale assessments and give objective and informed recommendations for educational improvements. Gives EQAO core values and 10…

The input model of assessing public education must be clearly understood before educators embrace an output assessment model. Most school finance legislation has been inequitable, favoring students in predominantly white school districts. However, the disadvantaged suffer most when implementing state outcomes-based accountability systems.…

High-stakes testing's goals are to improve student learning of worthwhile academic content and narrow achievement gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged populations. Students are supposed to work harder and teachers are supposed to work more efficiently and effectively. Curriculum design and target-setting are key elements. (MLH)

Examined similarities and differences in teacher and principal perceptions of the effects of two state-level rewards and sanctions programs. Interviews with teachers, principals, and other administrators, and surveys of principals, indicated that overall, salary bonuses with sanctions linked to a comprehensive education reform initiative more…