Most students have gaps in their background knowledge and basic skills-gaps that can stand in the way of learning new concepts. For example, a student may be excited about studying probability--until he realizes that today's lesson on probability will require him to use fractions. As his brain searches frantically for his dim recollection of the…

Before the end of this decade, almost 5 billion people will carry mobile devices. Will Richardson asserts that because this technology creates ubiquitous, complex, immediate connections to the world, the most important skill is the skill of being able to learn. "Students moving into adulthood today," he writes, "need more than…

There is no doubt that in the past 10 years, school culture has become a testing culture. But all the "multiple measures" do not really lead one to achieve the three most often cited goals of testing: building proficiency in basic skills, closing achievement gaps, and fostering the top-notch knowledge and skills that students will need…

Professional assessment organizations almost universally endorse the use of multiple measures for making education decisions. In practice, however, the concept of multiple measures is defined and applied in many different ways, depending on how we answer two questions--What counts as a "measure"? and How are the multiple measures…

Government agencies administer exams to appraise educators' effectiveness. However, most teachers and administrators are unfamiliar with how such large-scale tests are put together or polished. A profession's adequacy is being judged on the basis of tools that the profession's members don't understand. As such, educators need to have a dose of…

Cites some examples of programs in which students develop basic skills in connection with meaningful activities. (Author/MLF)

Stephen Tchudi, the author of the critique of Hirsch's article on cultural literacy, responds to Hirsch's reponse to his critique and asks: Who gets to define traditional content? (MD)

Describes a New York City program, the Adaptive Learning Environments Model (ALEM), that successfully provided academically at-risk students instruction in regular classroom settings. The program achieved remarkable results, but, due to state policies, it was discontinued in 1983. (MD)

Colorado now requires applicants for teaching certificates to pass a basic skills test in spelling, English language usage, and mathematics and to demonstrate acceptable speaking ability. Student teachers must also complete this screening. Applicants have four chances to complete the test. (MLF)

Current calls for a return to basic education may seem like a rerun from the 1950s and early 1960s, but there are important differences. (Author)

If the basics are used as vehicles for teaching students to think, for developing their intellectual powers, and hence for preparing them effectively for their futures, they merit their central position in the schools. (Author)

Schools should use good sense and scientific research to decide what, when, and how mathematics should be taught. (Author)

Another reviewer of E. D. Hirsch's new book, "Cultural Literacy," criticizes the book's concepts and points out that a better title might be "Cultural Literacy: How Good Ideas Go Wrong." (MD)

This article discusses the "back to basics" movement and points out both its advantages and disadvantages. (CD)

Competency-based education asks educators and the public to give up decades of habits and assumptions regarding the structures and methods of schooling. (Author/IRT)