Provides an overview of the DaVinci Project, a collaboration of students, teachers, and researchers in chemistry and art to develop multimedia materials for grades 3-12 visualizing basic concepts in chemistry and visual art. Topics addressed include standards in art and science; the conceptual framework for the project; and project goals,…

Temple University (Pennsylvania), an urban institution, is seeking to raise academic standards and is aggressively recruiting suburban students, finding that local high schools are not of high quality. Some critics feel the institution is abandoning the black population and is recruiting white students who are more likely to be better prepared…

Addresses problems with mathematics and science curricula at both elementary and secondary levels, and calls for helping more students succeed at the physics level of the science curriculum. (PVD)

Describes a California project which encourages educators to follow best practices for staff development and school improvement. The project helps them evaluate their staff-development plans by examining five essential questions about staff development and its connections to student success, professional climate, standards, and assessment. The…

In 1998, the first administration of the Massachusetts Educator Certification Test caused a furor. The initial decision to go forward with a statewide test, choice of vendor, decision surrounding the test's development, and the consequences of test administration are described. The Massachusetts experience teaches some important lessons that may…

In 1996, a Winston-Salem principal closed a failing alternative school and developed a new program dedicated to helping at-risk kids succeed. The result was LEAP (Learning and Acceleration Program) Academy, a school that helps academically unstable middle-school students catch up to their peers by completing two years of academic course work in…

The New Standards Project, attempting to create an assessment system comprised of performance exams, portfolios and projects, may not have fulfilled its promise to create a national system of tests worth teaching to. However, NSP did deliver high- quality professional-development opportunities for hundreds of teachers across the nation. (Contains…

Led by Chicago Public Schools, many districts have adopted strict retention and promotion policies, often abandoning social-promotion programs that pushed students ahead with their peers regardless of achievement. Research shows that grade repetition is a strong predictor for dropping out. Summer, weekend, and transitional programs are partly…

Presents a lesson plan that teaches students about the process of polderization (the reclamation of low tracts of land from a body of water). Illustrates how a country can solve a problem by modifying its environment. Includes background information and worksheets on the application of this process in the Netherlands. (MJP)

A survey of 701 medical-school administrators, medical-residency program directors, medical students and residents, and practicing physicians investigated the perceived clarity and validity of 44 medical school accreditation standards as indicators of the quality of undergraduate medical education. Predictive validity of some standards was also…

Comments on the new National Council on Economic Education standards and calls for more clarification and detail as well as additional standards. Argues that the almost-exclusive focus on principles-based standards ignores that need for explicit skill standards. Discusses possible difficulties for social studies teachers not trained in economics.…

Today's competitive climate is pressuring public school educators to improve schools in an environment dominated by parent and consumer choice. This article draws on two studies involving Australian principals that illustrate difficult ethical situations. Most participants found the values of marketing and economic rationalism to be inconsistent…

Presents tips, gleaned from federal research, to help parents understand how their children are doing in school, including: know what is expected; know the child's reading level; understand test scores; solicit teacher feedback; become familiar with the child's homework; use report cards to identify overall progress; stay attuned to social skills;…

A general equilibrium schooling model shows that greater school efficiency is complementary with more equal opportunity, increased overall learning, more integration, stable teacher salaries, and fewer course preparations per teacher. Transferring students to area schools with curricula suited to their abilities would secure these ends. (Contains…

An analysis of the 1998 California educational standards confronts the assimilationist ideology embedded in the push for standards and accountability in American education. The standards explicitly define "America" and"Americans" as White and Anglo, ignore Indigenous history and contributions of non-European cultures and women,…