Numbers of At-risk students are rising in the public classrooms of our day. Standardized testing is a reality that is clearly defining the great chasm that stands between the performance of these children and what is expected of their age mates. Public junior and senior high schools face the quandary: How are At-risk students to be aided in their…

The past two decades have witnessed a significant growth in the number of school improvement programs and in the accompanying efforts to evaluate such programs. Passage of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act in 2002 has intensified the need for evaluations to assess and understand the quality and value of educational interventions. Well over a…

This article tells the story of the author's discovery of thinking skills, how this has affected her teaching, and how these ideas have now spread to other curriculum areas in her school. In November 2001 the author began to carry out a research project on thinking skills, introducing new activities into lessons to encourage pupils to think and…

Postsecondary high school students for college and employment that leads to adult self-sufficiency is a daunting task for educators (Lerner & Brand, 2006; Spence, 2007). This task becomes more complicated as technology changes rapidly, as policy makers mandate standards that all students must meet, and as schools evolve to serve more students with…

In this article, the author cites valuable lessons to be learned from reality television shows that can also be utilized by physical educators. The author states some of the reality television's messages like: (1) physical educators must know how to maximize the activity time during physical education class; (2) must have a plan of action so that…

High school instructors need to focus on engagement, not just motivation to inspire student learning. Based on the author's experience working with the toughest students, at-risk kids, struggling students, and drop outs, this book offers teachers strategies that work to harness students' interests and creativity. This book includes techniques and…

Parent involvement in literacy instruction has a significant, positive impact on children's reading acquisition and family economic success. Much like other place-based family strengthening approaches, family literacy programs are inherently family-focused, designed to address the learning needs of an entire family rather than each separate…

"Everyday Mathematics," published by Wright Group/McGraw-Hill, is a core curriculum for students in kindergarten through grade 6 covering numeration and order, operations, functions and sequences, data and chance, algebra, geometry and spatial sense, measures and measurement, reference frames, and patterns. At each grade level, the…

Eastfield Community College (ECC) of Texas' Dallas Community College District obtained funding to examine the current skill standards for the job training of telecommunication manufacturing production specialists. Together with the firm Partners in Profound Knowledge (PPK), ECC documented and compared the skill standards required for…

The 10 issues of this organizational bulletin for the 1995-96 school year present reports, reviews, and essays on issues concerning the advancement of higher education as well as organizational news items. Major articles include: "Bowling Alone"--An Interview with Robert Putnam; "Crossing Boundaries: Pathways to Productive Learning…

During the last 50 years, American higher education has steadily grown in scale, wealth, and, stature. Despite its current status as the world's education superpower, however, it has begun to encounter public disapproval and consumer resistance. Colleges and universities have been able to ignore productivity concerns because a college education…

The objectives and development of the skill standards movement were examined along with 22 pilot projects that were undertaken as part of an effort to promote the development of a national system of voluntary industry-based skill standards. First, the past and present of the skill standards movement and certification practices were analyzed along…

The contents of the Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) of 76 students with mild disabilities in grades 4 and 8 were compared to nationally and locally defined standards for mathematics. The contents of the National Assessment of Educational Progress proficiency levels, local standards, and IEPs were categorized using a taxonomy with the…

The interaction of a university and the society is described in a case study of the system of public examinations of Melbourne University in Victoria (Australia). The initial desire to guarantee the academic standards of college entrants grew into a system that also provided school leaving certificates for those not entering the university. Over a…

In January 1992, the National Council on Education Standards and Testing (NCEST) issued a report "Raising Standards for American Education," which called for the establishment of a national system of educational standards and assessments as a basis for comprehensive reform of U.S. education. This statement is a facsimile of the written…