In recent years, a concatenation of fears, pressures, and agendas has produced a new round of testing in the form of high school exit examinations. There has not, however, been an accompanying rush to see whether the exams do any good. No state has attempted to validate its test against external criteria: given the hyperbole surrounding the tests…

After a 16-year absence from the public school classroom, an education professor returned for a semester to teach American history to an eleventh-grade class. He recounts four lessons concerning the need for classroom order, student motivation, teacher efficiency, alternative student grouping arrangements, and student feedback about teaching…

Presents a model for working with students at risk, helping them develop critical thinking, listening, reading, and writing skills. Includes cooperation of the local community relations officer for the police department. (RAE)