Describes outstanding public high schools in New York City that feature demanding curricula, qualified teachers, eager students, and no violence, vandalism, or truancy. Included are Peter Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Tech, Performing Arts, LaGuardia School of Music and the Arts, Aviation High, Bronx High School of Science, and Edward R. Murrow High. (JOW)

Describes how three prominent advocacy organizations are working to find and challenge any college program that serves only members of specific minority groups. (EV)

Discusses how the University of California's Board of Regents, under pressure from students and lawmakers, rescinded its policies against affirmative action, although a state ban remains in effect. (EV)

Explores how toughened admissions policies have reshaped the City University of New York, attracting many new students but turning some immigrants away. (EV)

Northeastern University's Torch Scholars Program is designed to seek out first-generation students who would not qualify under the university's regular admissions process. The scholarships go to motivated students who have shown determination in overcoming personal challenges. Northeastern believes the experiment will enhance the socioeconomic…

In this article, the author argues that traditional college entrance requirements exercise a detrimental effect on other elements of the educational system. She begins by looking at the way that the entire K-12 system is skewed toward meeting the needs of those students headed for selective colleges and universities and the way less successful…

Describes a process used at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to select undergraduate students for acceptance into elementary teacher education. Candidates work in small groups to meet creative challenges that demonstrate the presence or absence of certain desired characteristics not reflected by standardized test scores or grade point…

By accepting two appeals on the voluntary use of race in assigning students to public schools, the U.S. Supreme Court will likely decide the constitutionality of widespread practices that school districts use to promote diversity. And the decision could affect schools in unforeseen ways. In both cases, parents of white children have challenged…

The US Census Bureau reveals that although there are more than 41.3 million Latinos in the US as on 2004--about 14 percent of the population, only a very small percentage of them attend the country's elite colleges. A large part of the problem is that, like most of the nation, elite colleges and universities have little awareness of the…

In this article the author describes and explains the development of the distribution of ethnic groups between schools in the Dutch school system. Three mechanisms steer this distribution: (a) founding and maintaining schools along "religious" lines, (b) the academic selectivity of the school system, and (c) the distribution of…

Before 1949, education was largely ignored in China, but recently it has been given a priority almost equal to modern industrialization. Teacher education reforms have been extensive and varied. These reforms are described, and further challenges are outlined. (MT)

The Revolving Door Identification Model was designed as a new approach to selecting students and organizing services for gifted and talented programs. Using test and nontest information, students are placed in a talent pool that exposes them to three types of enrichment activities. (DF)

This paper explains people's preferences for ethnic and racial diversity in higher education through a model based on self-interest. Although all citizens from the majority group value diversity and their own education in the same way, their preferences for the level of diversity as well as the means of achieving it depend on their competitive…

Discusses the philosophy of John Rawls, asserting that although Rawls never wrote about affirmative action, his ideas are relevant to the issue. Rawls concentrated on "ideal theory," which he believed was the theory of what constituted a truly just society. He considered slavery and racial segregation paradigms of injustice. His ideal…

Examines the progress of black participation in the Rhodes Scholarship program. The author discusses the earlier practice of exclusion blacks in the program and highlights the experiences of two black Rhodes scholars in the selection process. (GLR)