Four New Jersey school districts worked together to increase student achievement by applying a number of strategies focused on getting traditionally underrepresented students to take more AP courses. The districts are members of the New Jersey Network of Superintendents (NJNS), comprising 15 superintendents who work together to develop systemwide…

A Pew Research Center analysis of 2018 Census Bureau data finds that post-Millennials (ages 6 to 21) are the most racially and ethnically diverse generation of Americans, and they are entering college at a higher rate than generations of the past. Their parents are more likely to have college degrees and have a higher median income than the…

The columnist weighs in on the most recent PDK/Gallup poll. The real value of the poll, the author says, comes from looking at each response and then thinking about the connective tissue between and among them. The poll's 47-year history adds yet another layer of rich context. Uniquely, the poll provides not a snapshot of public opinion, rather an…

Teacher educators have not been sitting quietly by the side as others have demanded changes in teacher preparation programs. Across the nation, scores of efforts are underway to recruit, train, induct, and retain a highly skilled class of professionals for American schools. The stories presented in this article cover just a fraction of the…

Reviews U.S. immigration history, highlighting the three great migrations, the newest immigrants, their lands of origin (Asia and Latin America), major settlement areas and characteristics, the wave theory of immigration, reasons for immigrating, the changing face of America, and challenges for the schools (higher minority enrollments and…

In this article, the authors explain a method that helps policymakers and educators to identify the forces and trends affecting education today and to project how they might conceivably play out in the future. They suggest that by asking "What if?" in a disciplined way, it might be better to imagine the possibilities of tomorrow in order to take…

A study of enrollment forecasting procedures in Los Angeles County has yielded data that provide guidelines for making accurate enrollment projections. (WD)

The protracted debate over "traditionalist" Western cultural values versus "leftist" multicultural values was mired in confusion concerning the different meanings of culture, refusal to acknowledge the extent of Western culture's entanglement with other cultures, and difficulty in understanding that multiculturalism is synonymous with our nation's…

Time is running out for social studies revision. If the social studies profession hopes to resurrect credibility with youth, every teacher must consciously move to relate his courses to the value dilemmas of youth and the value-laden issues of our time. (Author/JN)

During the last 30 years unprecedented economic growth and novel patterns of migration in Europe have increased opportunities and simultaneously destroyed established patterns of life and traditional processes of education. (Author)

The research summarized and reported contradicts the view that schooling makes little difference and that its improvement in quality and equality of opportunity lies beyond our reach. (Author)

Discusses certain educational, demographic, and economic trends challenging rural education and summarizes Rural Attitude Survey results. Despite consolidation efforts, rural schools are poorer and smaller than nonrural schools. Despite their marginalization by the dominant culture, rural communities have precisely the qualities valued by critics…

A study of the statistics on enrollment trends, popular attitudes, school effectiveness, standardized test scores, and educational reforms convinces the author that the American educational system is strong, effective, and beginning to gain the popular support it deserves. (PGD)

Presents findings on public attitudes toward educational policies pursued by the Reagan Administration from the 1987 Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll. It is a 13-page report with statistical data and an explanation of how the research was conducted. (MD)

The shared struggles facing urban and rural schools, such as changing cultural and linguistic classroom profiles, increased childhood poverty, and residential segregation patterns, influence financial inequities between people and communities thus contributing to gaps in academic achievement and teacher shortages in both settings. The…