Oregon Senate Bill 354 has required each school district in Oregon to develop a teacher evaluation plan that would include job descriptions, performance standards, observations, postevaluation, and a written program of assistance, if needed. The Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study (BTES) has drawn some conclusions about teacher effectiveness that…

A study developed criteria for judging state standards for the English language arts and reading and analyzed the 28 current standards documents. The criteria used for judging the standards relate to the purpose, audience, expectations, and assumptions of the standards documents; the organization of the standards; disciplinary coverage of the…

Sharing concerns and interests of New York State educators in the improvement of literacy, this annual journal raises educational issues such as appropriate, effective instruction and assessment for all of New York's children. A central thread found in many of the articles is the importance of authentic or meaningful experiences that invite…

The three articles in this newsletter focus on questions of what teacher knowledge consists of and how it can be measured. Three contemporary efforts to assess teacher knowledge, each with a different purpose, are presented. The first, based on a report of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, summarizes state assessment efforts and…

This monograph provides a status report on issues related to accountability, including standards and assessments, data systems, and the role of incentives for schools, teachers, and students in improving student achievement. Using information gathered from the literature and interviews with state administrators of vocational education, this paper…

In this volume of "Adventures in Assessment," an annual literacy education journal, teachers and practitioners write about their experiences with standards-based reform initiatives at the state and national levels. The following seven articles are included: "What Makes a Good Teacher?" (Marie F. Hassett); "Successful…

Students with disabilities have been excluded to an unreasonable extent from large-scale assessment programs at the national, state, and local levels. One implication of this exclusion practice is that students who are left out of assessments tend not to be considered during reform efforts. Another implication is that estimates of performance are…

Standards-based reform activity dominated K-12 education during the 1990s, reflecting a consensus that improving learning requires state-level curricular standards and examinations. Opponents argue state-imposed standards and tests overly burden districts, degrade teaching and learning, suffer from numerous technical problems, and have failed to…

This issue discusses changes in standards, assessments, and graduation requirements needed in K-12 and higher education, examining whether high school graduates are adequately prepared to enter college without remediation. Currently, about three-quarters of high school graduates will attend college. Among students who take the recommended number…

State efforts to improve the quality of undergraduate education were surveyed by the Education Commission of the States. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have initiatives to improve undergraduate education. The high school/college transition is perceived by state officials as an area with great potential for bringing about real change in…

This issue of Changing Schools explores what algebraic thinking is and why students need algebraic thinking. The efforts of Kansas and North Dakota to incorporate algebraic thinking into their state mathematics standards are described. Contents include: (1) "Algebraic Thinking: Preparing Students for Mastering Algebraic Concepts" (Vicki…

Standards-based systems generally require students to meet the performance level specified in order to proceed or be certified. This issue of the Oregon School Study Council (OSSC) Bulletin surveys the types of standards currently being proposed. After an introductory chapter, chapter 2 describes eight components of standards, illustrated with a…

This document, a first "theme" issue of a projected quarterly publication on developments in gifted education, focuses on theoretical principles and practical suggestions concerning student identification for gifted programs in Texas. The first article, "Developing Defensible Identification Procedures," is by Tommie Sue…

This paper analyzes the preschool special education eligibility classifications and criteria used by states and the District of Columbia in compliance with Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Four types of eligibility classifications are described: use of only Part B disability categories; use of Part B categories plus a…

This issue brief discusses the process of identifying a broadly defined set of desired outcomes for children and youth. It looks at the experiences of four states making progress in this area--Oregon, Texas, Kentucky, and Kansas--in order to illustrate the implications for state education agency policy and practice. It presents principles for…