Most teachers appear to assume that the status of corporal punishment in their own school or state is a national standard--a perception that is far from contemporary reality. The author of this article asserts lawmakers and courts have failed to ensure that schools are safe places for the children entrusted to our care. Those children cannot…

Suggests that the authors of the Standards for the Assessment of Reading and Writing seek standards as an essential tool to work for just and fair educational opportunities and outcomes. Argues that that faith is misplaced because standards, rules, or laws cannot change biased minds. (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…

Discusses the difficulties of establishing national educational standards in a content area such as social studies. Describes how national standards are being studied and might be instituted. (HB)

Argues that one critically useful approach to a standards-based educational system is the learning style approach--that is, addressing the learning style strengths and preferences of students. Discusses what learning style means; notes research on its effectiveness; and discusses strategies and teaching-style characteristics to help students meet…

Describes the certification process for teachers offered by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. Notes the growing number of certified teachers in North Carolina. Lists 16 certification areas offered, and outlines the process involved. (SR)

Describes briefly the author's experience seeking national board certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. (SR)

Describes the rigors of the certification process through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Describes how a collaborative team of teacher education faculty and national-board certified teachers led a year-long program of support for candidates for national-board certification, mentoring nearly 100 teachers in a three-year…

Argues briefly that national standards can improve achievement and equality of opportunity, provide a coordinating function, and provide consumer protection. (SR)

Outlines opposition to national standards and argues that the federal government should concentrate on producing greater equity in funding and in compensatory education, rather than on national standards and assessment. (SR)

Places the national standards movement in context of the larger political current, including the excellence reform movement. Argues that the political winds have shifted to the far right in educational reform. (SR)

Argues that "academic language" must be integrated into the English-as-a-second Language (ESL) curriculum from the beginning. Argues that the "ESL Standards for Pre-K-12 Students" (TESOL 1997) provides teachers with a scope for language acquisition skills for limited English proficient students, providing structure and guidance…

Describes the three-year development of the Standards Project for English Language Arts. Discusses the context-centered framework, "bad news" from the Department of Education, funding from the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association, working with a more linear structure, and uncertainties in the…

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)

Describes how using prereading opinionnaires enhances students' understanding of literature while satisfying many of the demands of Standard #3 of the Standards for the English Language Arts. Offers examples of such opinionnaires, and shows how one was used in a 9th-grade English class to promote students' understanding of the novel "The Giver,"…