This study was conducted in an attempt to ascertain attitudinal factors associated with the extent to which an Educational Improvement Center was able to stimulate local initiative and innovation. (Author/RK)

Excerpts from a policy analysis of Florida's high school graduation requirements of three years of mathematics and science. The report forecasts the probable impact of the policy in the areas of students, curriculum, staff, resources, and control. Ways of monitoring the actual consequences of the policy are proposed. (MLF)

The most dramatic impact of Proposition 13 on California school districts was that the state, in follow-up actions, reduced the number of matters that could be decided locally. (Author/MLF)

The Des Moines (Iowa) Public School System was one of the first to offer a cooperative home-school experience for interested parents. The district's Home Instruction Program, which now serves 310 students from 165 families, offers parents several choices regarding curricula, type of assistance, evaluation method, and dual (part-time) enrollment…

Presents planning lessons from the Community Involved Charter School, a Jefferson County (Colorado) grassroots initiative. Planners should seek community involvement in envisioning the school; define roles for students, parents, teachers, and community members; decide how to administer the school; decide on specifics, such as school size; and seek…

Shares observations on the state of education as seen from the vantage point of the nation's capital, at the beginning of a new year. (Author/MLF)

A new urban legend claims, "As a result of the state dropping bilingual education, test scores in California skyrocketed." Krashen disputes this theory, pointing out that other factors offer more logical explanations of California's recent improvements in SAT-9 scores. He discusses research on the effects of California's Proposition 227,…

By statutory mandate, all first-year teachers in Kentucky receive support and assistance that develop a strong, lifelong career foundation. Legislation in 1985 established a collegial team to induct new professionals and establish a culture of continuing growth for the profession. Internships with meaningful mentoring are keys to success. (MLH)

Kentucky's school-based decision-making councils now function in 66% of the state's schools. Since 1991-92, these schools have learned that their councils must represent their local constituencies, gain the support of local political structures, shun legalism, concentrate on substantive education issues, and develop a democratically based…

The National Education Association has strongly supported the Elementary and Secondary Education Act since its inception in 1965. But the law's most recent reauthorization, the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, is fundamentally flawed, writes NEA President Reg Weaver. Weaver offers NEA's recommendations for revising the law and addressing these…

Discusses the impact of federal and state government on the autonomy of local school districts, particularly in the area of curriculum reform. Examines the effect of recent state legislation on New Jersey school districts, describing two local school district programs that illustrate the influence of state and federal government. (JG)

A teacher explores the recent educational reform movement and discusses the studies of schools done by Sociologist Christopher Jencks in the 1970s. An important idea that can be extrapolated from Jencks' studies is that schools should function more like families than factories. This would empower teachers and make schooling more equitable,…

As state legislators, school boards, and the public at large become more receptive, home-schoolers are gaining access to more resources, including those at public schools. Researchers disagree over home schooling's effects on academic achievement and social development. Home schooling could be an important resource for studying how children learn…

In response to stagnating economic conditions, the Swedish government introduced numerous "reforms," including a voucher scheme for approved independent schools. Since 1992, enrollments in independent schools have increased only 1%, segregation and interschool disparities have increased, and supports for special-needs children have…

For-profit charter-school managers may be removing the "public" from public education. A study of 11 Michigan charter schools showed that cost-cutting strategies are adversely affecting student transportation, special education, and the socioeconomic mix of students. Corporations' superimposed bureaucracies have eradicated educators'…