To engage all learners, schools must offer career-pathway courses that combine academics and deeper learning. Gene Bottoms, until recently head of the Southern Regional Education Board, describes a transformation he believes must happen in US high schools--adopting curriculums that include intellectual rigor in career and technical education (CTE)…

The Common Core State Standards, released in June 2010, offer an opportunity to shift education away from shallow, test-prep instruction and toward a focus on key cognitive skills, writes Conley. Two consortia of states are now developing common assessments to measure these standards--assessments that will be designed to capture deeper, more…

It must have seemed simple to the framers of No Child Left Behind. For years, they had poured more and more money into federal programs for schools, yet reading performance had not improved. It appeared that the money had gone down a rat hole, and Congress was ready to hold schools accountable. It was time to get tough. Unfortunately, the…

Reflecting on her 40 year-long "happenstance" career in teaching--a field she had as a child vowed to avoid--Carol Ann Tomlinson describes five personal practices that have helped her and her colleagues achieve an effective, personally meaningful practice. She shares stories from her professional journey that illuminate these elements of a…

What's the best estimate of student performance on the Common Core State Standards? ACT, an organization involved in developing the standards, wanted to know how well today's students are meeting them. To find out, it analyzed the test results of 256,765 11th graders who took selected forms of the ACT test in spring 2010. In its report, "A First…

Faculty at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy are improving their understanding of teaching and learning through an innovative system combining collaborative accountability and professional development. CADRE (Career Development Reinforcing Excellence) centers around a network characterized by collective educational goals, self- and…

The basic purpose of helping teachers to enrich the curriculum of their own classrooms is a common bond between teacher centers where teacher participation and individualized training develop professional creativity, and emphasis is placed on the fact that the major influence upon children's schooling is the teacher. (JD)

Authors look at some of the issues that must be faced by local educators who must conceive and manage career development programs. (Authors/CB)

Second-wave reform prescriptions generally lack a career development focus mindful of teachers' changing characteristics and needs over time. Grasping these developmental characteristics is essential to understanding veteran teachers' morale and performance problems and to implementing revitalization and school improvement efforts. Midcareer…

The Career Ladder Program, one aspect of Tennessee's Better Schools Program, includes a career ladder for all school personnel, substantial incentive pay for performance and responsibility, competency-based performance evaluation for all school personnel, professional development programs addressing needs identified in evaluation, and new…

For the art of teaching to have a future, we must enlarge our understanding of professionalism to include the artistic skills and judgment demanded by good teaching. This task will challenge educators, because teaching artistry is neither well understood nor readily mandated by the central office. Includes nine references. (MLH)

In Brookline, Massachusetts, two classroom teachers learned that restructuring the teaching profession had to begin with restructuring the school. Discouraged by disappearing colleagues and dissatisfied students, these teachers began a team teaching and internship project called the Learning/Teaching Collaborative and sought ways to further…

Describes California's Mentor Teacher Program, which provides stipends for experienced teachers who are appointed to work in a staff development capacity with new teachers, other career teachers, and "teacher trainees" without formal teacher training. Covers mentor qualifications and program implementation, documentation, and evaluation.…

Author presents a number of operational programs with some of their respective characteristics which may be of value in planning programs in local school districts. (Author/CB)

Describes the career development plan adopted by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (North Carolina) Public Schools. Reviews the preparatory steps through which new teachers rise to career status. Assesses the role of "mentors" or master teachers, the administrator's role, and the impact of the teachers' action-growth plans. (PGD)