This report examines three sets of standards developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and provides recommendations for curriculum, teaching, and assessment of students showing mathematical talent. Specific recommendations are suggested for programs, teaching strategies, resources, and alternative means of evaluation…

One of the most important elements of the community college is the open enrollment policy, providing students who may have performed poorly in high school with a fresh start. Serving academically underprepared students is an important objective of community colleges, but the practice is not without pitfalls. Negative outcomes of the open…

This handbook contains profiles of 107 historically black colleges and universities in the United States and the Virgin Islands. Information is derived from the College Board Annual Survey of Colleges database. Information for each school describes: (1) admissions criteria; (2) graduation information; (3) academic programs; (4) campus and student…

In November 1994, the California State University (CSU) system developed a proposal to eliminate remedial education for entering undergraduate students, offering this proposal as a solution to raise the system's standards. However, the CSU has presented no research showing evidence of the problem that the proposal is intended to solve. Further,…

Between 1986 and 1993 Australia developed a national curriculum framework of statements and profiles in eight learning areas. These areas were (1) English, (2) mathematics, (3) science, (4) studies of society and the environment, (5) arts, (6) health and physical education, (7) technology, and (8) languages other than English. This development…

This document is a comparative report based on data that enables a different form of comparison to be made between Japanese and American eighth-graders. The data is drawn from assessments given in each country using tests developed via governmental agencies that were designed to mirror the basic curricula currently being offered to students in the…

Faculty members employed at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) should give priority to teaching and learning. The work of faculty members at such institutions is a way to reclaim individuals who have been discarded by society. Mission statements should be reviewed to be sure that college printed materials do indeed reflect these…

The programs developed in Austria, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden to allow vocational students to acquire qualifications with a dual orientation toward employment and higher education were characterized and compared in a study. Three groups of programs were identified: those extending over an integral part of the…

The Goals 2000: Educate America Act seeks to improve student achievement through high expectations for all; increase parent and community involvement in education; make schools safe, drug-free, and disciplined; upgrade teacher training and professional development; bring technology into the schools; support long-term and systemwide efforts; and…

The San Diego Community College District (SDCCD), in California, is a multi-college district in which many students cross-enroll in two or more colleges. Beginning in 1978, the District began efforts to align courses and programs across the individual colleges, including the implementation of districtwide accreditation and procedures related to…

The ways in which data on performance on public examinations could be used as educational performance indicators were studied, focusing on the standard tables developed for the Scottish Office Education Department (SOED). These tables are available for every secondary school in Scotland. Further refinements to follow the planned release of the…

Suggesting that all students are capable of learning and can achieve high levels of competency when teachers delineate their expectations, this digest focuses on Outcome-Based Education (OBE) in the language arts classroom. The digest delineates some of the tenets of OBE, including the necessity of clearly defined objectives, students having…

Stemming from a series of panel discussions between employers from the manufacturing sector and community college educators, this document describes the development and goals of the two-year Associate Degree in High-Performance Manufacturing and outlines 20 standards for the degree agreed upon in the discussions. Part I describes the origin of the…

This booklet examines national and state educational reform in the 1990s, noting the ways in which performance assessment is being presented as a mechanism of reform. Three reform initiatives are examined: national education goals, standards, and reform legislation. In conjunction with these reform movements, new methods of assessment are being…

The education and reeducation of health care professionals remain essential, if somewhat neglected, elements in reforming the nation's health care system. The Pew Health Professions Commission (PHPC) has made the reform of health care contingent upon the reform of education, urging educational institutions to design core curricula with…