The detrimental effect of evaluating college teachers with student ratings of their performance is illustrated. The author found that he could raise his ratings by reducing the quality of his teaching and concentrating on the improvement of morale among his optometry students at the University of California at Berkeley. (JMD)

Explains declining academic standards as at least partially the result of two decades of innovative teaching. Describes the predicament of high school graduates who cannot read. Explains the hazards of affective, innovative teaching, and the anticipated benefits of returning to traditional education mixed with limited and proven innovative…

Richard Stockton College (New Jersey) is responding to the trend toward increased student focus on professional interests by establishing more rigorous academic standards and linking service learning in the community to educational goals for faculty and students. Faculty, students, and the community are responding positively. (MSE)

Applications to law schools have slipped steadily since 1990-91, and current applicants have a 70% chance of admission. Faculty are seeing more students with mediocre skills in writing and analysis. Institutions are providing more academic support, and some are cutting enrollments. However, law schools often are a prime income source for their…

Discusses the importance of accreditation in academic self-regulation, and addresses the major issues surrounding it that are also of concern to the general public: keeping higher education available and affordable, striving for inclusive and diverse campuses, and finding more effective ways to assess learning and academic quality. (YKH)

Until recently the service-learning movement has had an ideological bias, prioritizing moral/civic questions related to the service experience. Now it needs to invest more intellectual energy in specifically academic concerns. Only by paying attention to the needs of individual disciplines and allying itself with other academic interest groups…

Compares two approaches for establishing student achievement standards and expectations for province-wide assessment in Saskatchewan (Canada). The first approach based standards on judges' estimates regarding the percentage of students who should be able to attain desired levels of performance. The second approach required judges to reach a…

Presents the responses to the National Standards for Arts Education from four arts education associations. The associations represented are the National Dance Association, Music Educators National Conference, American Alliance for Theater and Education, and the National Art Education Association. Discusses applications and limitations of the…

Questioned Ontario college students and administrators regarding their opinions on standards of practice for postsecondary special needs programs. Respondents indicated strong support for most suggested practices. Fewer administrators, however, supported practices that required enhanced funding, staffing, and resources, and fewer students…

Presents an annotated bibliography of trade books by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the Children's Book Council (CBC) for grade K-8 students. Includes information about the thematic strands of the NCSS social studies standards and discusses the criteria used to select books for the list. (CMK)

Classroom teachers are the most important element in school reform. Maryland's efforts to redesign teacher education involve a partnership between the state university system, chief higher education officer, and school superintendents and are designed to facilitate a seamless system of K-16 education, recognizing that schools must have rigorous…

Provides a state-by-state summary of the progress made in implementing national standards for arts curricula and assessment. Forty-four states either have adopted standards or are vigorously working on their implementation. This is an enormous improvement over last year's participation of only six states. (MJP)

This study drew on survey data from 121 urban middle school students to define features of homework management. Findings indicated that arranging the environment and controlling emotions related systematically to family help with homework. Homework management indices were unrelated to standardized achievement test scores. Findings generated…

Describes the interdisciplinary program utilized at the Missouri Fine Arts Academy (MFAA). Focuses on the high school students in the MFAA discussing the results of a questionnaire and focus groups and also the results of a questionnaire given to the teachers at the academy. (CMK)

This article discusses Virginia's efforts to implement new educational standards coupled with high-stakes assessments. Students with disabilities have been fully included in reform efforts and participation in the high-stakes assessment program has been relatively active. The focus on only academic skills to the exclusion of life skills is…