This indepth study of four year olds' experiences in five British schools (two nursery and three primary) indicates that, in primary schools, quality provision depends partly on local education authority admission policies and school resource allocation levels. (MLH)

A 1997 Texas law requires universities to admit the top 10% percent of seniors from each Texas high school, opening a door for many Hispanic and Black seniors in schools with high minority populations. Observers are concerned some students may be underprepared for university work. Elite public universities around the country are watching to see if…

The University of California's governing board has agreed to accept the top 4% of graduates from each high school in the state, the most significant expansion of the system's entrance criteria in two decades. The new policy will yield about 3,600 additional eligible students and improve racial/ethnic diversity, which is welcome after a ban on…

Examines arts education policies in which serious flaws have been revealed. Focuses on issues such as the content standards for the arts, the importance of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, gateway policies for K-12 students, and arts study and college admissions. (CMK)

Describes an informal seminar aimed at preparing the best undergraduate psychology students for graduate school. Discusses the rationale and the format, including meeting objectives and the student selection process. Considers student outcomes and feedback and the shortcomings of the seminar. (CMK)

The future of Greece's well-being will depend on improving educational performance to boost productivity and improve social outcomes. In the current economic context, with the need to get best value for spending, Greece must and can address inefficiencies in its education system. The challenges are significant. For example, Greece lags behind many…

A case study was done of how Total Quality Management (TQM) was used in a Masters in Business Administration program to prevent rule infractions rather than to punish students. The program allowed students to take up to 20 hours of classes under an unclassified status before they took an admissions test. In order to continue, however, students…

This article highlights the Chancellor's Leadership Class, a highly selective, four-year program for undergraduate students at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. The four primary components of the program are coursework, community service, skill building, and mentoring. Although the program has a uniform structure for all students, it…

This paper describes a model of a field based or clinical experience program for prospective teachers. An overview of issues and concerns regarding field experiences and student teaching describes the traditional approach to supervised practice teaching. In a discussion of contemporary perspectives on student teaching programs, it is noted that…

This paper describes the process of recruiting high quality liberal arts graduates into teacher preparation programs at Memphis State University, Tennessee. The two graduate programs, the Master of Arts in Teaching and the Lyndhurst, both require full-time attendance, have lock-step delivery systems and extended internships, and are intensive. In…

This monograph on developing and implementing admission testing for prospective teachers includes information on: (1) competency assessment activities in 31 selected states, the basic skills assessed, and time of testing--prior to admission and/or certification; (2) competency test development; (3) competency testing for admission into teacher…

This model for a conceptual structure of teacher education programs is intended to codify and accumulate aspects of knowledge related to teacher education programs, and to identify available studies on the topic as well as to note problems that need further investigation. It seeks to provide an understanding of the dynamics and interactions of…

This paper presents excerpts from the introductory and summary chapters of an interim report published in January 1986, the first of three reports to be produced as part of the National Assessment of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 (ECIA) Chapter 1. The interim report, which is intended to provide an analytic and…

Legislative and/or state department of education mandates requiring some form of competency assessment of teachers are currently in force in 38 states. An additional seven states report planning activity, and only five states report no plans to test the competency of teachers. Descriptions are given of competency assessment activities in each…

A project was designed to meet the needs of gifted and talented vocational students and to train students to be entrepreneurs. Objectives were to develop criteria to identify and select gifted and talented vocational students, identify instructional materials and methods to introduce entrepreneurship skills, and to develop or locate an instrument…