Suggests that there is a cyclical relationship between standards and research. Examines how the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards have influenced the agenda for mathematics education research and stimulated research on the impact of those standards. (Author/MM)

This article presents an interview with Cassandra Barnett, a school library media specialist at Fayetteville (Arkansas) High School. She is also a member of the AASL Learning Standards Rewrite Task Force, which has been working on developing AASL's new National Learning Standards. Fayetteville schools experienced multiple challenges during…

Education as a major social movement is coming to an end. This book derives its theoretical framework from the ideas of Hegel, who perceived an end to history, and Thomas Kuhn, who theorized that history does not follow a linear path but that the scientific landscape changes through large-scale movements called "paradigm shifts". This book…

The answer to the question, "What's happening to the standards project organized by the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)?" is that the project is going forward. Though its federal sponsors rejected it in the fall and winter of 1993-94, the project is continuing under the…

The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) has proposed a set of social studies guidelines to direct the manner in which teachers function within classrooms. This paper questions not whether there should be standards, but which standards. The paper first discusses the quest for certitude, noting that a teacher is not a farmer who tends…

A middle school technology teacher describes the process of obtaining certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, including documentation of professional development and service; submission of student work samples and videotaped vignettes of teaching and learning; and preparation of an unedited videotape of a lesson.…

Presents a brief historical overview of standardized testing in science including its purpose, consequences, characteristics, and evaluation. Provides a critique that is unique in that this study used national science standards to evaluate a state-mandated standardized science test. (Author/MM)

Reproduces, in outline form, the National Standards for Arts Education in Theater, as developed by the Consortium of National Arts Education Associations. Notes that the standards are intended to be used as curriculum planning guidelines by K-12 educators, school districts, and states. (RS)

Explores the two major pieces of federal legislation that make up the foundation for a national testing initiative: Goals 2000 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Discusses the content of each of the legislative initiatives, how they interrelate, and who supports them. Suggests that the national testing movement has metamorphosed into…

Privatization undermines the role of public education in keeping democracy alive, offering consumerism as the only form of citizenship. Challenging the encroachment of corporatism is essential if democracy is to remain the defining principle of education and society. (SK)

Presents the views of six librarians on the new version of "Information Power" (IP 2) by AASL (American Association of School Librarians) and AECT (Association for Educational Communications and Technology). The new version includes guidelines for school library media programs and introduces national student standards for information…

In many countries, the traditional processes of algebra have received criticism from educational reformers. Current reform policies, national frameworks, and local implementing statements have encouraged an algebra-for-all curriculum for students. After years of effort to improve the teaching of algebra, studies indicate that students usually do…

Summarizes and integrates the lessons learned from the last decade of professional development efforts based on the standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Identifies fundamental challenges to such reform and indicates strategies that have been helpful in overcoming these obstacles. (Author/MM)

Summarizes an interview with professional mathematicians Judy Roitman and Alfred Manaster, members of the writing group for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' (NCTM) "Principles and Standards for School Mathematics". (Author/MM)

Presents a rejoinder to critiques of the article "Alternatives to National Standards in Environmental Education: Process-Based Quality." Discusses polarization of schools of thought in environmental education, suggested misunderstanding of behaviorism, and the compatibility of behavioristic and nonbehavioristic approaches to environmental…