Because they focus on the quality of instruction, teacher evaluations can be powerful catalysts for teacher and school improvement. But today, the typical teacher evaluation consists of a single, fleeting classroom visit by an administrator untrained in evaluation. Often he or she wields a checklist of classroom conditions and teacher behaviors…

This article shows how in Connecticut, making a solid connection with the state Department of Education has helped lead to well-developed, state-supported school counseling documents. Discusses how the latest efforts have resulted in two publications based on the National Standards for School Counseling Programs. (GCP)

This article evaluates the initial psychometric qualities of the School Counseling Program Evaluation Survey (SCoPES). SCoPES is a 64-item instrument designed to correspond to "The National Standards for School Counseling Programs" (Campbell & Dahir, 1997). Coefficient alphas on the overall score and the three subscales (i.e.,…

Argues that while national standards provide a valuable resource to guide curriculum development, there is no clear procedure for turning them into a grade-by-grade curriculum. Outlines and discusses the process that one school district used to create a standards-based curriculum. Provides numerous charts and examples. (DSK)