Discusses the National Collegiate Athletic Association's decision not to increase the number of Division 1 basketball scholarships from 13 to 14 per team and the scheduled increase in academic standards required of players. Many members of the Black Coaches Association claim these rules reduce the number of opportunities for low-income minority…

Discusses findings of a survey of 304 elementary school teachers from six eastern Massachusetts school districts. Teachers' values often conflicted with their school districts' formal grading systems. (LMI)

Controversy surrounds the recently released voluntary national standards for U.S. history and world history. At the center of the debate is the issue of how history should be portrayed. Directions for ordering copies of the history standards and sample passages from the standards guidebooks are provided in sidebars to the article. (MLF)

Grade inflation, which distorts the measurement process and reduces student effort, is caused, in part, by teachers' concern for students' emotional needs. Communication of classroom expectations and grading procedures, frequent evaluation, and utilization of standardized testing data can help reduce grade inflation. (Author/WD)

Public Agenda's recent study debunks five myths: only parents support the public schools; people think their community schools are performing well; those criticizing schools are clinging to an idealized past; people care little about poor, minority students' academic success; and most Americans distrust academic standards and standardized testing.…

Teachers at Pawtucket, Rhode Island, schools are developing a new approach to Title I, the federal program for disadvantaged students. Included are high academic standards, ongoing professional development, and developing a long-range plan. A sidebar lists web sites that offer information on Title I programs, especially effective schoolwide…

A major cause of the decline in student achievement is the lag time between the rise of teacher unionism and the more recent rise of effective school management. Recommendations for improving educational quality include administrator leadership and refusal to be intimidated by unions, concentration on teaching the basics, and testing newly…

Federal law now requires states to establish achievement goals for special-education students. This article discusses the pros and cons of assessing and setting standards for special-education students. (LMI)

Two years after CEO Paul Vallas was brought in to run the Chicago Public Schools, the schools report higher scores on standardized tests, better attendance, and higher graduation and lower dropout rates. Of 557 schools, 109 were placed on probation, and students were held accountable for their performance. (LMI)

Discusses why some school boards are raising academic eligibility requirements for student athletes, and the divisive effects created in some communities. (LMI)

Describes Metropolitan Nashville (Tennesseee) Board of Education's creation of a strategic plan to establish specific standards for academic performance and participation in school activities. By committing to quantitatively based goals to achieve a centain level of improvement, the board has put the entire school community on notice and has set…

Telephone surveys by the Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools found that almost half the parents surveyed had themselves attended private schools and that, in switching their children to private schools, they sought more discipline, higher academic standards, more homework, smaller classes, more individual attention, and greater parent…

In this excerpt from her new book, "National Standards in American Education: A Citizen's Guide," Diane Ravitch argues that there are steps local school boards, parents, and communities can take to implement educational reform and high academic standards. (MLF)

Results of a Council for Basic Education poll of 1,000 voters argue for redefining local control of public education and for raising standards in every part of the country. School boards can ensure easy public access to national standards, demand that local standards be written in plain English, and lobby state officials to clarify statewide…

Lawrence Hardy's lead article details a year of diminished expectations, highlighting teacher shortages, failing teacher competency scores, 12th graders' dismal TIMSS scores, affirmative-action setbacks, and Milwaukee voucher triumphs. Kevin Bushweller probes school violence issues. Others discuss leadership trends, school-success indicators, and…