Applauds the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) for maintaining its high principles in its attempt to develop national standards in English for the federal government. Suggests that NCTE acted wisely when it refused to be enticed by lucrative government contracts to bend its pedagogical principles. (TB)

Identifying key concepts and making those concepts meaningful is critical in constructing a preschool curriculum. Establishing national standards for content in early childhood education may help guide teachers in constructing curriculum, but teachers must know each child and the total group to turn specified standards for content into meaningful…

Describes the key features that distinguish standards development organizations (SDOs) and analyzes these features in light of recent work in political economy. It is concluded that many of the features that lead to a slower process may be interpreted as an efficient institutional response to problems posed by industry standardization. (24…

Voluntary national standards will not correct the gross inequities in the educational experiences of poor children and do not address the question of "Whose knowledge is of most worth?" Content standards enable schools and policymakers to avoid addressing the substantive causes of student failure. (SK)

Describes current living conditions of children in the United States, and argues that few tax dollars are spent on children. Discusses current policy on assisting low-income families with children, and suggests the establishment of national minimums for children in the areas of income support, education, and health care. (MM)

In the absence of national standards, we have evolved a haphazard, accidental, disconnected national curriculum based on mass-market textbooks and standardized, multiple-choice tests. This article explains former Education Secretary Lamar Alexander's efforts to ameliorate this situation by promoting America 2000, establishing the National Council…

Proposes an Achieving Students' Program that would combine student performance on a national achievement examination with monetary rewards from prospective employers. (MLF)

Argues that the IRA/NCTE (International Reading Association/National Council of Teachers of English) standards should provide a starting point for both local and national discussions of what it means to have standards, what effects standards can have, and how to go about developing them. Offers a set of questions that teachers might consider…

A teacher with National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification describes her experiences in achieving that certification, including in her story a description of three of her students who represent the images that define the process of National Board certification for her. (SM)

Discusses Margaret Gills's theory of two discourses operating in "the politics of literacy": (1) the discourse that stresses a broad ranging notion of literacy and warns against a narrow, functional definition; and (2) the discourse that argues that Australia is in the middle of a major literary crisis. Asks what problem the National…

Examines the role of constructivism as a philosophy to incorporate technology into the science classroom specific to the parameters of the National Science Education Standards and the National Educational Technology Standards. Concludes that care must be taken to provide for appropriate pedagogical strategies based upon inquiry and discovery…

Discusses the issue of purpose in teacher education, explaining that teaching, unlike most other professions, has varied perceptions and assumptions regarding its purpose and nature. A 1980s study found that most preservice teachers had not discussed the purpose of schooling within a democracy during any of their classes. Examines the importance…

Presents one mathematician's view of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics national standards documents, discussing their history and highlighting specific notions, examples, concepts, phrases, and uses/misuses of the standards. Differentiates among what the standards say, what people think they say, and what teachers do in the classroom…

Discusses various views regarding the fundamental premises of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' (NCTM) original standards documents, examining concerns expressed by key stakeholders and noting that one of the problems with the standards is that the essence of the subject is lost. Describes mathematics education reform, curriculum…

Interviews with over 200 parents, educators, and students examined the impact of efforts by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to impose high school course standards. The article describes a growing national challenge to NCAA policies and procedures that have delayed or blocked many high school students from participating in…