This document contains two articles that develop an argument for how schools must change to meet the demands of democracy; they also present a focused agenda for action. In the first article, "Reframing the School Reform Agenda: Developing Capacity for School Transformation," Linda Darling-Hammond describes how two different paradigms of teaching…

This newsletter's central item is an essay on teaching as a profession and its condition in the midst of current trends and historical movements. It discusses teacher education, recent reform efforts to incorporate new understandings of teaching and learning in programs for prospective teachers, establishment of professional development schools,…

Del Schalock, Mark Schalock, and David Myton suggest that the education profession is stuck on an "input" teacher-assessment approach that fails to consider effects on student learning. They offer the Oregon Work Sampling Methodology as an exemplary alternative to portfolios and performance assessments. Although the Oregon WSM is a…

Teacher educators and teachers must be leaders in developing learner-centered standards for preparing teachers. Standards can help teachers build their own knowledge and understanding of what helps students learn. As schools undergo restructuring, teachers will be responsible for students, not just subject-matter information; for understanding how…

Recent emphasis on raising standards has attracted Americans' attention to factors that improve student learning. An examination of the relationship between teacher knowledge and student performance is offered in this report. The text summarizes what research suggests about various kinds of teacher education, the professional development teachers…

This report examines recent trends in the establishment of state-level policies for beginning teacher evaluation and supervision. The state role in defining the experiences and clinical preparation of beginning teachers increased substantially during the 1980s; there are, however, important differences in how states approach this responsibility.…

Accountability has always been a basic concept in public education, although ideas about how to accomplish it have changed over the years. Problems in urban schools have given rise to the hope that carefully created systems of accountability might spur school improvement and school restructuring. Devising a system of genuine accountability in a…

Although a great deal of debate surrounds the level and allocation of resources to public schools, very little of this discussion addresses how schools might organize teaching resources more effectively at the school level. This paper describes case studies of five high performing public schools that have organized professional resources in…

Discusses research used to support findings from the U.S. Secretary of Education's report, "Meeting the Highly Qualified Teacher Challenge," and suggests that different conclusions would derive from a well-grounded rendering of the evidence. Examines four propositions (among them, teachers who have completed teacher education programs…

President Bush and the nation's governors have proposed that by 2000, all children will leave grades 4, 8, and 12 with demonstrated competency in challenging subject matter and use of their minds. This article discusses the improvements needed in curriculum and testing, teachers and teaching, and school superstructures. Includes 39 references.…

Highly prescriptive curriculum, testing, and teacher evaluation policies, such as those in New York State, actually impede teachers from teaching responsibly and effectively. These policies insist that teachers demonstrate a set of uniform behaviors unrelated to effective teaching for particular students. To work toward a new reform paradigm,…

Analyzes current teacher education practices in relation to the need for more highly prepared, credentialed teachers for California's schools, discussing: the importance of teaching and teacher education; what matters and works in teacher education; high quality teacher education programs in California; teacher supply and demand; issues facing…

This report is an attempt to classify and interpret the new pieces of state legislation influencing the teaching occupation: how teachers are trained, licensed, inducted, and compensated. The historical basis of recent teacher reforms and the concepts of teaching that these new policies embody are analyzed. Examined are trends in state teacher…

Educational agencies accepting federal funds for special programs, particularly under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, are often required to prove maintenance of effort. That is, funds generated from state and local sources cannot be decreased and the slack taken up with the federal moneys. The Rand Corporation study reported…

This article evaluates the educational voucher system and how it may solve effectiveness and efficiency problems of the educational system through market accountability. Educational goals and state and community roles in reaching these goals are discussed. Comments by Richard J. Murnane and Edwin G. West are given. (DF)