Learning Clicks is a program under the provincial department of Advanced Education and Technology's "Raising Awareness about Planning for Post-Secondary" (RAPPS) umbrella; an initiative that supports Strategy 2.4 in Alberta Advanced Education and Technology's 2007-10 Business Plan to enhance parents' and learners' knowledge and awareness…

Millions of middle and high school students lack the reading and writing skills they need to succeed in college, compete in the workforce, or even understand their daily newspaper. However, while Congress has demonstrated a real commitment to improve reading instruction in grades K-3, it has made relatively trivial investments (mainly through the…

In this article, the author discusses the discrepancy in high school dropout rates throughout the U.S. and in national studies because of different measures of the dropout rate. Many states began to use a common dropout definition developed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Not included among the 37 states using the NCES…

Governors and state and local education officials assumed that raising student achievement in the elementary and middle grades would solve the problems with high schools--but it hasn't. Why? Good information is the basis for successful improvement, and high school reform lacks accurate information about what students are to learn and about how…

Rates of sexually transmitted infections and HIV transmission in Russia remain high. Official attitudes do not yet appear to recognise fully their significance. There is increasing knowledge of the population's sexual behaviour and attitudes, including of young people, emerging from local and externally funded programmes. This is leading to…

What if every high school across the country were mandated to provide all students with four years of math, four years of English, three years of science and three years of social studies? What if all schools were required to participate in the 12th grade National Assessment of Educational Progress? The federal government wants to play a big part…

America's secondary schools are failing far too many of their students. Policymakers and members of the education community generally agree that the problems in America's high schools have reached crisis proportions in recent years. Transforming schools and educating all students well requires thoughtful, coordinated, systemic change. To ensure…

Of all Australian secondary schools in the current period, the government comprehensive high school is in most difficulty. This article looks at the developing fate of this school in terms of middle class social practice in relation to changing schooling loyalties. The recent work of Michael Pusey, Stephen Ball, Janet McCalman, Richard Teese and…

The prospect of completing high school and continuing one's education at a vocational, two-year, or four-year institution continues to elude a large number of African American high school graduates (Minorities in Higher Education Twenty-first Annual Status Report [2003-2005], ACE). The expectation of pursuing gainful employment through the private…

At the secondary school level, technical education programs serve numerous purposes ranging from narrow skill training to enhancing general education. However, implementation strategies may make the intended purpose of the educational program unclear. This study examined the purpose of technical education in Zimbabwe's high schools, as outlined in…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) How's the Water?: Congressional Hearing on High School Reform Recognizes the Crisis, but Urges Caution Before…

The purpose of this project was to gain a better understanding of dimensions of trust and inter-relationships between those dimensions during the adolescent years. Drawing from survey data collected at the beginning and end of a semester in eighty middle- and high-school social studies classes, relationships were assessed between: social trust,…

If, as James Anderson stated, a nation committed to democracy and equality has every reason to be ashamed on "Brown v. Board of Education's" 50th anniversary, why the commemoration and celebration? By revising Anderson's challenge to examine the complex role of "Brown" in the nation's memory and history, this chapter…

To change American high schools, new collective imagination is needed. In an age where the word "teenager" or "adolescent" often inspires fear or frustration, leaders must overhaul the public's attitude about their high school students. In a time when many teachers believe their efforts cannot overcome poverty and other barriers to learning…

These are challenging times for teachers. Mixed messages, conflicting demands, and increasing needs on all fronts surround them. Each day, teachers face increasing requirements and significant pressures on their daily practice from administrators and policymakers. It is hard to be, or remain, a teacher of quality committed to one's ideals. In this…