The first priority of our schools should be to provide students with fundamental literacy skills and to provide them with enough understanding of the society so they can function effectively as citizens. More emphasis should be placed on education about the economic system. (Author/IRT)

The director of the Central Intelligence Agency outlines needed skills and suggests how secondary education can encourage their development. (DS)

The author concludes that testing in basic education is indispensable. Several objections to external testing are discussed. (Author/MLF)

This article argues that present youth are inarticulate, that oral communication is a vital competency, and that programs in aural and oral skills should be implemented. (MJL)

More than just learning to draw, art education is complementary to other areas of the curriculum. (Author/JM)

Geography as a separate subject lost ground in the secondary school curriculum after the Korean War. A High School Geography Project stressing urban themes was developed in the late 1960s, but faded by the mid-1970s. A 1980s renaissance, spurred by educational reform mandates, seems a promising development. Includes seven references. (MLH)

Because geography begins right outside the school door, teachers can structure learning activities that link classroom learning to events in the local community and the world. These activities can be organized in a program leading students from description (reading the landscape) through explanation to prediction. (MLH)

Interviewing, fact checking, writing, research, analysis, meeting deadlines--all are necessary skills gained from journalism training. The Journalism Education Association recently reported that students taking high school journalism courses and working on student publications performed better in college than students without such training.…

"The Cardinal Principles of Education" (1918) shaped the future of U.S. education. Its objectives were health, command of fundamental processes, worthy home-membership, vocation, citizenship, worthy leisure, and ethical character. The NEA Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Education promoted an education that all youngsters…

The potential of minimum competency testing cannot be realized unless school districts engage in the complex processes of competency-based program development. (Author/MLF)

Students who enjoy the advantage of a good world geography course in high school are receiving a firm basis for subsequent learning as college students and future citizens. Geography builds on a world image that furthers understanding of a totally integrated community by reaching beyond country and region. Includes two references. (MLH)

Competency-based graduation requirements provide students with a meaningful diploma, reduce illiteracy, and provide a system of quality control for schools. (Author)

Guidance counselors should be authorized to place at-risk learners in nonconventional educational programs to help them acquire the basic skills for functioning productively in society. Counselors must emphasize the remedial individual and guide educators away from the acceptance of failure for 25-35 percent of their students. (MLH)

Most discussions about at-risk students focus on remedying deficiencies in basic skills, often narrowly defined as English literacy and ability to perform mathematical computations. Omitting appealing subjects from a "streamlined" curriculum will only worsen the situation. Through careful planning, administrators can add the power of music to…

The authors outline the process of generating student proficiency tests, including item generation, pilot testing among students, sampling and testing to tailor proficiency measurement to job market needs, using selected community members as sample test populations, and analysis of test results. (Author/DS)