Critiques a study comparing National Board for Professional Teaching Standards-certified teachers with those who were unsuccessful in their efforts. Results found that National Board Certification made a difference. This paper suggests that after considerable cost and time, the fundamental question remains unanswered: is the National Board's…

Presents the case for a consensus-driven approach to setting subject matter standards for history education. The author argues that the National History Standard Project, designed to broaden the scope of U.S. and world history education, has carried out the original intent of its funders, rejected one-sidedness, and achieved a compromise that…

Discusses the current (unacknowledged) national curriculum, the myth of local control, the need for a national curriculum, major issues, and building a national curriculum. (SR)

Suggests the need for incentives to help combat the resistance or indifference regarding implementation of the national standards for foreign language learning at the university level, especially in upper division courses at large research universities. (Author/VWL)

Compared to 2004 issues concerning the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), this year's issues in play are even more complex. First, much more media attention has been paid to testing, in particular to the No Child Left Behind Act and its required Adequate Yearly Progress on state tests. Second, objections to various aspects of testing have increased…

In this article, the author argues that maintaining the SATs regime and all it has done to damage students and teachers represents something unforgivable in the education policy of the government. He contends that a way must be found to rid the schools of SATs and all that they embody, and replace them with something more worthy of students and…

Right now every college and university in Kyrgyzstan faces the urgent question of whether to join the Bologna Process. Opinions in the republic are split down the middle: (1) some rectors categorically reject joining; and (2) others would like to convert to the credit technology of instruction and have already started to take active, practical…

In the essay, "The logic of convergence and uniformity in teacher production", Loomis et al. advocate that teachers are experiencing a shift from individualistic programs that prepare them toward uniform, common teacher preparation resulting from top-down agenda-setting and mandated regulations. In their theoretical stance, the knowledge…

Discusses the absence of national standards which are uniformly applicable to health, safety, sanitation, and nutrition aspects of child care programs. Explains the responsive collaborative project of the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Public Health Association to develop national reference standards for out-of-home child care…

This group of articles includes the National Business Education Association's position statements on business education's role in educational reform and in computer literacy, an overview of the National Standards Project in Business Education, and statements by the Policies Commission for Business and Economic Education on keyboarding, computer…

This essay distinguishes between the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act's narrow definition of highly qualified teachers and the full range of skills and knowledge teachers must have to teach all children effectively. It asserts that the NCLB's lack of distinction between minimally and highly qualified teachers, along with rapid implementation…

This paper describes one college faculty member's experiences coordinating departmental preparations for a 5-year, continuing program approval/accreditation visit from the Florida Department of Education (FDOE), the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), and the Florida Board of Regents. It notes that in addition to the…

Discusses how the National Curriculum in England affects teachers and students. Notes that while standards have risen, many teachers are concerned that teaching is being limited to ensuring students' performance in a narrow range of capabilities. Maintains that the focus should be on teaching children how to think. (KB)

Focuses on the benchmark statements of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in the United Kingdom. Addresses the document "Geography for Life: The National Geography Standards" created within the United States. Believes that the benchmark statement is useful for geographers within the United States. (CMK)

Discusses social studies and its critics; the struggle for the soul of social studies; fragmentation and national standards; proliferation of standards; and assessment in the national standards. Suggests that administrators and teachers responsible for curriculum development should carefully examine all standards documents as they plan for…