This volume was commissioned to mark the centennial of the North Central Association (NCA) of Colleges and Schools in 1996. It reviews the organization's history and explores the internal culture of the NCA, the role of accreditation, and the unique relationship between educational voluntary associations and the federal government. The book sees…

Calvin VanderWerf--college president, dean, and department head--is described as a man of distinction. Although it is primarily as a teacher that he has helped and influenced thousands of students, his contribution to the College Board is defined as unique and substantial. (Author/MLW)

An examination of the role of the associate degree in community colleges in the United States is presented in this report, based on a review of the history of the degree; surveys of community colleges, major companies, educators, and professional associations; and the work of the National Task Force on the Redefinition of the Associate Degree.…

Overview of significant changes in library education during last century discusses example of Clara Mable Brooks, 1912 graduate of Illinois State Library School; literature on professionalism; librarianship and cultural and intellectual authority; character of library science students; ideology of "library spirit"; authority and quality…

This curriculum considers the social history of Illinois during the years of 1836-1861 by studying Abraham Lincoln's legal papers from his time as a lawyer. Nearly 100,000 documents have been discovered in the archives of local, county, state, federal courts, libraries, and other repositories. The documents include detailed information about the…

This bulletin sets forth the results of a study of requirements for high-school graduation. It is believed that graduation requirements constitute a better index to a school's objectives than curriculum offerings, for if a subject is required for graduation, it must be studied, without regard to the pupil's desire. One of the important…

This document contains a reprint of the 1916 "The Social Studies in Secondary Education: A Six-Year Program Adapted Both to the 6-3-3 and the 8-4 Plans of Organization and Report of the Committee on Social Studies of the Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Education of the National Education Association" widely believed to be the most…

The history and accomplishments of the National Education Goals Panel (NEGP) are traced from the Education Summit in Charlottesville (Virginia) in 1989 when President Bush and 50 state governors agreed to set education goals for the nation. The goals were announced in February 1990, and the NEGP was formed in July 1990 to issue annual reports on…

This paper examines the role played by the adoption of a stringent admissions policy in the rapid transition of a large, open-door, senior college located in a metropolitan area in the South into an institution with elitist aspirations. The discussion focuses on the impact admission policy had on institutional characteristics and its effect on the…

Presents a historical perspective on Bylaw-5-1-(j), better known as Proposition 48, of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which calls for tougher academic standards for students seeking to participate in Division I athletics. Proposition 48 seems to be a relatively logical step in the evolution of the freshman eligibility…

Formerly National Education Association president, Mary Futrell got NEA to support the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and helped shift NEA's focus to professional development and human-rights issues. She believes teachers must help state and district entities set academic and professional-development standards. (MLH)

Focusing on the problems of validity and representativeness of samples, a study examined the history of literacy in the United States since 1880 in order to set the contemporary debate on test scores, literacy and reading performance in the longer-range perspective of the last 100 years. The quality of the data and the arguments of literacy…

The history of the American law school since the 1850s is discussed. During the period after 1800, the replicas of the English legal profession were almost nonexistent in the United States, and Jacksonian Democracy was characterized by a decline in formal standards for legal education. In the early 1850s, law began again to be seen as a learned…

This paper examines admission policies and practices in U.S. colleges and universities, examining practices from colonial and ante-bellum colleges to advances made beginning in 1870, when entrance requirements were influenced by the transformation of colleges into universities. These 19th century changes were the forerunner of waves of reform in…

Discusses the false assumptions that indicate students are less intelligent than in the past. Topics include a historical perspective of college student problems; standards that kept all but the elite out of education; S.A.T. (Scholastic Aptitude Test) scores; social influences; the complexity of today's economy; and the importance of reading.…