The economic meltdown has hit U.S. college campuses, and higher education is on the chopping block in state budgets, with cuts totaling hundreds of millions of dollars already approved and hundreds of millions in more cuts on the way. As veteran legislators, the authors have seen this story play out before in previous recessions. The mindset on…

Hollow reforms, like proposals that emphasize get-tough accountability over support for educators and widespread choice over quality neighborhood schools, enjoy their share of supporters. As the author watched the choice and accountability movements gain momentum across the nation, she concluded that curriculum and instruction were far more…

Discusses the application of competency-based instruction to the teaching of theater arts in secondary schools. Advocates a four-step process of goal identification; procedure, content, and method selection; student participation; and evaluation of goal achievement. (JMF)

John C. Hitt became the fourth president of the University of Central Florida (UCF) on March 1, 1992, after nineteen years of administrative experience and a distinguished academic career. He received his M.S. and his Ph.D. at Tulane University. Dr. Hitt serves on the boards of EDUCAUSE, the National Center for Educational Accountability, the…

Schools should stop defending their turf and acknowledge they must earn the right to provide education. Educators should develop high expectations of students, value data gathering, provide parental/community feedback opportunities, and craft strong local achievement indicators. The result will be improved teacher satisfaction and taxpayer…

Parents object to outcome-based education because it rejects the basics, subject-matter knowledge, and individual achievement and emphasizes vague, subjective goals. The Eagle Forum president's major objections to OBE are its "dumbing-down" effect, "feel good" emphasis, antiphonics commitment, stress on politically correct…

In 2007, the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) completed an 18-month study of the costs of teacher turnover in five school districts. The selected districts varied in size, location, and demographics enabling exploration of how these variations affected costs. Costs of recruiting, hiring, processing, and training…

This article comparing the educational systems of various countries contends that, while most countries have clearly articulated educational goals and educators know how to achieve the goals, there is little information on the extent to which students with disabilities are achieving such goals because most accountability assessment efforts do not…

This paper uses systems theory and force field analysis to evaluate the potential for combining special education with America 2000 national educational strategy and goals. A brief history of educational reform attempts is followed by an explanation of systems theory and the school as a social system. Force field analysis is used as a tool for…

This document suggests changes to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in four targeted areas. Regarding Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) supports: (1) Setting challenging but demonstrably attainable student progress goals; (2) Judging school effectiveness by measuring progress of the same students over…

In Fall 1981, a Chancellor's Counseling Advisory Committee was formed in the Los Angeles Community College District to analyze current counseling practices and, with the help of a counseling consultant, make recommendations for improvement. This report first presents summaries of the Committee's deliberations and their recommendations, which were…