Every year, more than 15,000 teachers vie for the chance to become certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Although the process is voluntary, National Board Certification is a widely recognized mark of distinction and is increasingly tied to leadership opportunities for teachers, salary increases, and improved student…

This collection of conference papers addresses such issues as: the changes in policy, practice, and research necessary to ensure that teachers meet the needs of all students; and the partnerships and strategies needed to acquire and use the resources that will effect these changes. The ten chapters of the book are: (1) "The Courage to…

The purpose of this booklet, which draws on experience from all over the world, is to provide educational planners, administrators, and managers with analysis and information on using assessment to improve the quality of education. Assessment options and what research and other kinds of evidence reveal about their advantages and disadvantages are…

In recent years, public dissatisfaction with education has led educators, citizens, and policymakers to consider creating a national system of standards and assessments. This dissatisfaction resulted in movement to establish national standards and assessments in U.S. education. These standards are designed to raise the achievement levels of all…

The United States is moving toward a more national, performance-based view of curriculum policy. The federal government will play a modest role in nationalizing curriculum policy issues, largely by pressuring states and localities through national standards. The chief agents of nationalization will continue to be state and locally based…

This book, written from the policymaker's perspective, examines key issues facing education ministries trying to find the optimal size of and curricular emphasis for their secondary-education systems. It sets out the principle choices to be made and the dilemmas encountered regarding the scale and thrust of the sector. The work first looks at key…

This book reports the analyses and recommendations of a study group formed by the National Research Council to develop conceptual guidelines that make content the driving force in mathematics assessment reform and to explore a variety of related measurement and policy issues. The document focuses on three principles that underlie effective…

The second edition of "Really Writing!" provides 40 real-life writing activities designed to capture the attention of young authors (grades 2 through 6) who are just learning the composing process. This book is also a resource for teaching advanced writers who are ready to experiment with a variety of writing and speaking genres. Each of the…

This collection of papers includes: "Introduction" (Roy D. Pea); (1) "Summary of Findings and Recommendations from the Report to the President on the Use of Technology to Strengthen K-12 Education in the United States" (President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology, Panel on Educational Technology); (2) "National Educational…

This book addresses the link between student learning of mathematics, the teaching method adopted in the mathematics classroom, and the assessment procedures used to determine and measure student knowledge. Fifteen chapters address issues that include a review of different models of mathematics learning and assessment practices, three contrasting…

How is your special-education curriculum impacted by the requirements of IDEA and NCLB? How can you improve student learning and retention to positively influence assessment results? What methods are available for determining your students' present level of performance? In this second edition of "Accessing the General Curriculum", Nolet…

Do you spend entirely too much time correcting your students' papers? Do your students' essays and term papers take side trips to nowhere? Is their writing riddled with mechanical errors? Do their lab reports and essays lack specificity and clarity? Writing in the Content Areas, Second Edition is for middle and high school content area teachers…

This book offers instructions for school principals, assistant principals, teachers, and district-level administrators for building a comprehensive accountability system that focuses on leadership skills. It presents recommendations for assessing and nurturing teacher performance, setting up balanced assessment and accountability policies, and…

This book presents an overview of the different policy approaches to educational disadvantage and equity within the Australian public school system. It highlights two general trends: the shift toward school-based management and funding approaches increasingly directed toward reading and mathematics achievement. More specifically, the book: (1)…

One of the tragedies of American education is that so many teachers do not understand or are unaware of educational issues and how they impact on their profession. There is a gap between teacher perceptions and reality and this book is a first step in closing that gap. Hot-Button Issues for Teachers is a timely, comprehensive book that addresses…