Drawing from a current study, this article identifies critical issues and challenges for alternative educators and administrators. It contains a list of questions that can be used to identify and address key issues in alternative settings in order to promote successful school experiences for students with and without disabilities. (Contains…

The reform legislation in the State of Illinois requires each district to articulate learner outcomes in six areas of education. Separate provisions of the law require increased assessment and reporting by the states and local districts. Deficiencies in the reform program, and the State Board of Education's implementation of the program, are…

Proposition 48 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which calls for tougher academic standards for students seeking to participate in Division I athletics, discriminates against Black athletes and historically Black colleges and universities. Furthermore, the best athletes are not always the best students; the bill limits the…

Examines the nature of competency testing reforms through a multisite investigation of local school districts and states. Argues that competency tests and standards function more as symbolic and political gestures than as instrumental reforms. (FMW)

Advocates that mathematics education reform in urban schools cannot happen without socioeconomic efforts to lessen poverty in inner cities and protect urban America's youth. The paper argues that the most successful reform initiatives will be holistic in nature and that the covert racism and ethnocentrism in educational materials that…

A 1993 National Study of High School Restructuring surveyed principals of 3,380 high schools concerning restructuring elements being used. Although 10-15% of U.S. schools are being restructured, few are simultaneously employing key elements (performance standards, authentic assessment, interdisciplinary curriculum, school-based decision making,…

Examines the impact of mandatory statewide implementation of increased standards with the enactment of Florida's Recognizing Achievement in Secondary Education Bill as evidenced by performance on standardized entry-level tests for community college students. Finds little improvement in academic preparation as measured by test scores. (DMM)

Faculty were asked to rate 24 sentences containing errors commonly committed by nonnative speaker (NNS) writers on 6-point scale of tolerance. Results generally suggested that faculty were more tolerant of NNS errors than of errors perceived to have been made by native speakers (NS), suggesting that NNS students may not be held to the same…

Employing standardized achievement tests to ascertain educational quality is like measuring temperature with a tablespoon. Such tests are prone to testing-teaching mismatches, omitted items, and confounded causation problems. Actually, three factors influence students' scores: what's taught in school, native intellectual ability, and out-of-school…

For urban schools, concerns over curriculum standards come second. First must come a plan to stop teaching values that reinforce a curriculum for unemployment. This paper presents three methods to counteract the impact of anti-work curricula: teacher development, student development (via a school-to-work curriculum), and shaping a curriculum that…

The Annenberg Rural Challenge believes that high academic standards can help achieve excellence, but can also be exploited to serve other political purposes. Standards should originate in the community. The policy statement discusses three kinds of standards, the dangers of standards, and the relationship between high standards and educational…

Details Florida's accomplishments and challenges as policymakers and educators focus on increasing student achievement through higher student and teacher standards, assessment, and accountability mechanisms. Already recognized for its articulation procedures, Florida continues to improve and expand partnerships and agreements between and among…

Articles on Black college faculty recruitment and retention and student financial aid examines these issues: senior Black faculty and diversity issues, recruiting Black faculty to small towns, the supply of doctorates, doctoral fellowship programs targeting minorities, financial aid information on the Internet, and an online college…

Critiquing Nina and Sol Horowitz's article advocating high-stakes tests, the author deplores deleterious effects of too-rigorous standards on poor students and recent immigrants. Without large-scale initiatives to affect their lives out of school, urban youngsters' prospects are dim. A National Research Council report offers testing guidelines.…

Assessment can have a profound transformational impact on a college or university, but for this to occur, such core values as improvement of student learning through collection of performance-related data must be integrated into the institutional culture. At Truman State University (Missouri), an initially modest commitment to improving student…