Discusses the new Advanced Placement course in statistics as an alternative to calculus for high school seniors. Broad conceptual themes of the course are exploring data, planning a study, anticipating patterns in advance, and statistical inference. Provides a list of College Board regional offices to contact for more information. (MKR)

Describes an elementary school principal's visit to Japanese schools. Highlights positive impressions, such as 99 percent literacy, education's high priority, focus on basics, and students' proficiency in science and mathematics. On the minus side, Japanese schools give students scant individual attention and overemphasize memorization and highly…

Mary Hatwood Futrell, president of the National Education Association, and Albert Shanker, president of the American Federation of Teachers, discuss educational reform, current problems in education, teacher education, teachers' associations, and the professionalization of teaching. (MT)

Discusses the initial purposes of the National Curriculum assessment. Argues that pupils and teachers could benefit from a better analysis of assessment data by considering a system of assessment used in France. Suggests that the use of information technology would enable formative, diagnostic, summative, and evaluative assessment to take place…

Criticizes calls for national competency testing for Canadian students. Argues that thinking skills are too complex, and standardized tests too simplistic, for such tests to be valuable. Points out that testing alone does not improve education. Examines why standardized tests are appealing. Concludes that the tests are useful if their limits are…

Describes how one education reform strategist wants to establish a broad national examination system for American students which would be a powerful motivator to achieve. It would be based on the best aspects of foreign schools but address American diversity, assessing students' skills through a wide range of activities. (SM)

Many school districts around the nation are re-evaluating how they measure student performance in mathematics. Calls have been made for alternative, authentic assessment tools that go beyond simple, and widely ineffective, multiple-choice tests. This book examines how the Fizz & Martina math video series provides students with hands-on…

Educators anticipate bold new education reform initiatives from President Bill Clinton and his Education Secretary, Richard Riley. A priority project is college tuition loans, repayable through voluntary public service jobs. The President also supports increased funding for the Head Start Program and money for a national apprenticeship program for…

This book describes how examinations and national assessments can be used to encourage more pedgaogically sound teaching and learning. It provides concrete examples of ways to measure student learning and describes how to develop, score, and interpret tests to ensure that they are valid, reliable, and fair to all children. It offers techniques and…

Analyzes data from the National Assessment of Economic Education Survey using data envelopment analysis. Determines whether high school economics classes in the Developmental Economic Education Program (DEEP) produce higher achievement levels than non-DEEP classes. Calculates technical efficiency of DEEP and non-DEEP classes. Reports results…

Discusses the results of the 1996 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) of secondary school students on probability and statistics. The most recent results indicate that more attention is being given to data analysis, statistics, and probability, and that student performance on these items is gradually improving compared to the 1990…

Discusses concerns about and reaction to student test scores. Questions the nature of a national test for social studies. Asks whether students can be tested in groups as a means of performance assessment and whether such testing instruments can and should replace traditional testing in social studies. (DK)

Reports that the developmental process for national standards for K-12 instruction in the arts is nearing completion. Discusses issues and criticisms relevant to the national standards movement and to music education. (CFR)

Designed to aid teachers of a high school economics course, this curriculum guide is presented in self-contained units of study. Thirteen units, each with specific lessons, cover economic problems, the market system, market structure, market imperfections, government regulation, the national economy, aggregate supply and demand, the business…

Analyzing Test of Economic Literacy (TEL) scores, examines how extent of teacher course work influences student achievement. Concludes student learning improves when instructors had a minimum of four economics courses. States results are most significant in teaching macroeconomics with implications for citizenship education. (CH)