Throughout nearly 300 years of policymaking in the United States, educators have promoted eight broad goals of schooling: basic academic skills, critical thinking and problem solving, social skills and work ethic, citizenship, physical health, emotional health, the arts and literature, and preparation for skilled employment. A recent survey about…

Its focus on holding schools accountable for student achievement on standardized assessments sets NCLB apart from previous versions of the law. The more severe consequences for schools that do not show the necessary improvements in student achievement--such as restructuring and state takeovers--loom just around the corner. Many educators are…

What people mean when they use the phrase "content standard" varies all over the lot. In some states, content standards are little more than category labels describing collections of curricular aims in particular content areas. If a state's content standards are too numerous, then teachers do not know where to aim their instructional efforts. This…

In 2002, Michael Bloomberg, New York City's newly elected mayor, hoped to fix his city's public schools, which were widely perceived as plagued by a gamut of problems that ranged from low test scores to patronage-riddled schools and districts. A special bill approved by the New York State Legislature made Bloomberg solely accountable to the New…

A conversation with James Stigler, professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, about how to improve professional development for teachers. (PKP)

Despite some encouraging signs that education reform efforts are raising achievement in one school here and another there, such piecemeal approaches have not yet yielded positive systemic results. To achieve districtwide improvement, a growing number of school systems are adopting a "portfolio approach" to district governance by replacing the…

America's push for educational accountability is leading toward industrializing her education and making it more technological, and further asks the question is this what we want. (Author/ML)

Research in the neurobiological, behavioral, and social sciences has dramatically increased our capacity to provide effective intervention for economically disadvantaged children. According to Neuman, however, U.S. policymakers have made little use of this body of research to improve the prospects of children at risk. This article discusses seven…

Barton argues that the school accountability system now operating itself has some accountability problems. He discusses three key flaws: (1) The system ignores the fact that--because many states have not yet aligned their standards, curriculum, and test--many assessments being used don't meet basic criteria for test validity; (2) The present…

Teachers will be more willing to accept responsibility for results if they have a part in determining the environment in which they practice. (Author)

A comprehensive three-year process for planning a system of teacher accountability can ensure discriminating and valid results. (Author)

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)

Teacher professionalism and educational restructuring have the same goal--to make teachers more responsive to their students. To transform teaching into an authentic profession involves six changes: reforming teacher education and licensing, restructuring schools, reforming unions, improving accountability, and bettering salaries and working…

Numerous school districts are experimenting with site-based management, gaining increased authority and responsibility while aiming to improve accountability and productivity. Some key elements include alternative resource allocation, expanded decision-making through teamwork, key advisory committee roles for parents and high schoolers, increased…

For imperative moral and practical reasons, our commitment to children must transcend political rhetoric and produce a continuum of programs beginning before birth and sustained until adulthood. Children need defenses against preventable infant mortality, childhood diseases, homelessness, unsafe childcare, and early sex and parenthood. Families…