School shootings have been in the news of late. People ponder what occurs in classrooms today. Why would a young person wish to take a life? Within educational institutions, the killings are a concern. In our dire attempt to teach the children and ensure student success, it seems many of our offspring are lost. Some students feel separate from…

Argues that the standards by which literacy is judged have gone up, which produces the impression that schools are doing worse than they have in the past when in fact they are doing well. Examines a cross section of studies and data. (TB)

Describes six models or formats for mass communication internships as a means of incorporating the internship into the mass communication department's overall program. (HOD)

This Brief Report highlights current activities focused on setting standards in education, and examines whether students with disabilities are considered when standards are set. Types of standards are distinguished, including performance standards, delivery standards, and content standards. Information on organizations developing standards in…

The history and institutional use of cutoff scores is reviewed, emphasizing the changes in these scores used over the years and the rationale used in selecting cutoff scores. A brief description of the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) is provided, as is background about how it works. Cutoff score recommendations of the American Council on…

Academic standards at British Commonwealth African universities are considered and the relevance of Western academic traditions for the universities is discussed. It is concluded that building academic excellence is of greater importance than increasing manpower output. (MSE)

Identifies "universal" themes of educational reform reports: improved teacher salaries/teacher quality; more traditional curricula with higher percentage of required courses; higher achievement standards; improved discipline; and stronger school-business ties. Criticizes reports for not tackling problems of principal-teacher authority…

Features a discussion of issues about accreditation of journalism and mass communication programs in colleges and universities, bringing together a historical perspective, an editor's perspective, and an educator's perspective. (HOD)

This paper offers reflections on various presentations at the March 1999 convention of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development in San Francisco. The presentation, "Links between National Standards and Successful Classroom Strategies," is guided by two questions: (1) How are teachers, schools, and school districts promoting…

The current controversy about using results as a way of assessing the success of efforts to improve the lives of children and families, and of shifting to a results-based accountability system, has given rise to hope, fear, and confusion. This paper sets out some of the issues in the shift to results-based accountability and identifies a startup…

A number of forces are likely to contribute to future issues in educational assessment: (1) reduction in government resources, (2) financial pressures broadening the diversity of post-secondary applicant pools; (3) adult student emergence at the post secondary level; (4) concern with accountability of schools and educators; (5) strengthening of…

Legal tenets from federal and case law as well as existing guidelines concerning appropriate academic adjustments for college students with learning disabilities. Recommendations are offered focusing on institutional, program, and course requirements, documentation of the student's learning disability, student qualifications, and "reasonableness"…

There is now a need, just like in industry, for quality assurance in education, for injecting systematically planned and formal processes, precise definitions, objectivity, and measurability in education. The demand for educational excellence in industry is "out there," and companies in more advanced countries are partnering educational…

This paper addresses the recommendation made by a recent study that the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree be rejected as the graduate degree in education and the corollary of this recommendation, that the Doctor of Education degree (Ed.D.) be the standard degree for advanced study in education. This paper reviews data on trends in the incidence…

The following arguments are offered in criticism of Hargens' theory that consensus may be measured by scholarly journal rejection rate: (1) Hargens fails to specify adequately the meaning of "consensus"; (2) all sciences have similar levels of relatively low consensus; and (3) journal rejection rates are influenced by other variables…