Intended as a forum for the discussion of postsecondary accreditation, this book addresses pragmatic issues such as constituent satisfaction, cost, and redundant efforts, as well as such strategic concerns as accreditation's potential to provide leadership in the areas of transfer, articulation, and general education. The following 10 chapters are…

The New York University Symposium on Urban Community Colleges examined the distinctions between urban and non-urban community colleges, the role of urban community colleges in linking high schools and universities and in promoting local economic development, and methods of identifying and developing leaders for these institutions. No definitive…

Findings of a study that sought to determine teachers' and principals' perceptions concerning state-mandated testing are presented in this paper. Data were gathered through interviews with 30 fifth- and sixth-grade teachers and 12 principals in 3 states--Tennessee, Illinois, and New York--where statewide testing has been implemented for 30 years,…

This book, which is for K-12 teachers, teacher educators, administrators, and staff developers, explores concept-based learning. Chapter 1, "Interpreting and Aligning National, State, and Local Standards," reviews the national content standards through a set of concept-based questions to highlight the differences between concept-based and…

This speech by U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley discusses how education is improving as the country moves into the 21st century. Section 1 sums up the United States' history of giving millions of Americans the education so long denied to them (immigrants, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and women). Section 2 examines a new…

As part of the school reform legislation of 1985, the Illinois State Board of Education established State Goals for Learning in six fundamental learning areas: language arts, mathematics, science, social science, fine arts, and physical development and health. The next step is to develop standards that will more clearly define the knowledge and…

This supplement to the national physical education standards aims to provide teachers of American Indian students with strategies and ideas for culture-based physical education. Traditional teachings have long recognized that the "whole" person must be considered when addressing issues of health, fitness, and general well-being. Among…

This paper describes the processes that one school district, the Visalia Unified School District (California), went through in establishing a standards-based assessment and accountability system using multiple methods. First the district's standards-based assessment and accountability system and the methods used to establish it are described, and…

Selected current readings in the area of school reform are presented. Seven selections in "The Front Lines" focus on current developments in educational change in the political arena. A section on "Charter Schools" contains eight readings on the development and implementation of charter schools. A section titled "School…

Principals and teachers are becoming frustrated with conventional evaluation practices typically used to determine teacher effectiveness and, thus, tenure and promotion. This Digest explains that as new performance standards are being developed, there are reconfigured assessment designs requiring an array of reflective, analytic skills. Creation…

Over the past 3 years, the Mathematics Department of Grossmont College, in California, has examined the issues of course standards, instructor grading variability, and course placement. In 1990, a study was conducted to determine if the Elementary Algebra instructors with lower pass rates had higher standards, and if their students had a higher…

This volume reports on the flow of graduates from higher education into working life in Portugal, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland. Chapters for each nation were contributed by national experts in that field. The first section of the report, on Portugal, contains two papers. The first, written in English, discusses recent changes in the…

Discussions about whether to implement associate degrees in British Columbia (Canada) date back to the mid-1970's, with the debate focusing on transfer arrangements and the viability of community college diplomas. One of the first acts of the British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer, created in 1988, was the recommendation to create an…

This document first provides an overall explanation of the Education Consolidation Improvement Act Chapter 1 and then describes Arkansas' involvement in Chapter 1 services. The report reveals that there were 76,588 Arkansas students who received Chapter 1 services in fiscal year (FY) 92, which amounted to a 7 percent increase over the previous…

The standards described in this document cover the critical aspects of business teacher education at the collegiate level. The standards are organized into two parts. Part 1, which deals with basic programs ordinarily leading to initial teacher preparation and a baccalaureate degree, outlines standards pertaining to the following aspects of…