This document is comprised of the four 1995-1996 issues of "Classroom Compass," a newsletter of the Eisenhower Southwest Consortium for the Improvement of Mathematics and Science Teaching. Each issue contains a "Resources and Opportunities" section, a reading list, excerpts from the National Science Education Standards, and…

Beginning in the mid- to late-1980s, state policymakers began to rethink their strategies for influencing curriculum and instruction in public education and adopted a policy strategy known as standards-based, systemic reform. This issue of "Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) Policy Briefs" examines how standards-based, systemic…

This policy brief reports on an analysis of the legislation establishing charter schools in the 19 states that had such legislation as of December 1995. It identifies provisions in the state legislation which specify anti-discrimination policies and clauses, the inclusion of students at risk or students with disabilities, fiscal provisions,…

This publication discusses the development of girls and women within a hierarchical power structure and the effects on their self-esteem and performance. It describes the differences between girls' and boys' learning styles and educational experiences, which have differential effects on self-esteem and performance, particularly in mathematics and…

Florida educators, parents, and school board members are intensely debating the issue of tracking and ability grouping. After summarizing recent research affirming the deleterious effects of ability grouping, this report describes a survey of 600 Florida educators regarding their perceptions of this practice and their beliefs about its…

This newsletter contains six articles all related to the theme of education for recent legal and illegal immigrants. In "Golden Lord with Us from the Main Forest: Some Thoughts on the Education of Recent Immigrants," Aurelio M. Montemayor reflects on his experiences growing up in a bilingual, bicultural extended family of…

This digest is the first in a series of quarterly publications about topics related to educational equity, which will also include reviews of related resources. Its main article examines the adverse lifetime consequences for females of dropping out from school. Women who fail to complete high school are penalized both by their lack of education,…

This article describes affirmative development, a concept designed to complement colloquial notions of affirmative action, which emphasizes the creation and enhancement of competence in addition to the more traditional emphasis on the equitable reward of competence. In 1903 and 1958, W.E.B. DuBois examined whether 20th century problems related to…

This document consists of articles 12-22 published in the electronic journal "Educational Policy Analysis Archives" for the year 2001: (12) "Affirmative Action at Work: Performance Audit of Two Minority Graduate Fellowship Programs, Illinois IMGIP and ICEOP" (Jack McKillip); (13) "School Reform Initiatives as Balancing…

Forty-five years after the "Brown v. Board of Education" decision, the United States still faces the realities of institutional resistance to change. This special issue reviews the past decade of work by the Southern Regional Council to overcome inequality in education in the context of that organization's long struggle. Selections…

Educational reformers have come to recognize that establishing more challenging standards and assessments is not enough to raise student achievement. This brief identifies five challenges that confront educators and policymakers as they develop higher standards and other policies and structures to support improved student and teacher learning. It…

This feature issue on inclusion and school restructuring for students with and without disabilities contains the following articles: (1) "The 7 Habits for Educators" (Terri Vandercook); (2) "The Evolution of Inclusive Education" (Jennifer York-Barr and Terri Vandercook); (3) "Creating Inclusive Schools: What Does the…

Racism, discrimination, and prejudice are typically viewed from the perspective of the disadvantaged ethnic minority, but another approach is to address the advantages of whites. There is one culture that is usually invisible to whites, and that is "whiteness." To grow up white is to be the focal point from which others differ. Whites…

A draft of a book, "School Choice: The Cultural Logic of Families, the Political Rationality of Institutions," received a great deal of media attention. The book contains research from nine different studies of school choice and includes an introduction and conclusion by Harvard professors Richard Elmore, Gary Orfield, and Bruce Fuller. The…

This theme issue of "Update on Gifted Education" brings together accounts of diverse efforts being made to encourage excellence and equity in schools. A dialogue with Lionel R. Meno, Commissioner of Education in Texas, stresses how services for gifted students fit into the larger picture of addressing the needs of all students, examines…