As transgender people have received greater visibility and acceptance, as well as increased legal protections, educators have begun to examine their school policies and practices with an eye toward legal compliance and a desire to be welcoming to all students. Melinda Mangin shares insights from interviews with educators who have sought to improve…

Describes results of survey of Ohio certified-teacher attitudes toward state education policy, classroom climate, and high-stakes testing. Found a large majority of teachers expressed strong dissatisfaction with educational policy, its impact on classroom climate, and the use of high-stakes testing. (11 references) (PKP)

Brewer, Rees, and Argys's detracking article raises questions concerning the authors' interpretations, reported findings, and implications for policy. The effects of ability grouping are small and are substantially surpassed by the effects of many teacher-related instructional innovations. Classroom organization substantially affects student…

The most important finding of the new Coleman report is that, after family background is taken into account, there remains significant variation in student achievement, which can be related to differing educational policies. (Author/WD)

In its 2003 report, School Survey on Crime and Safety, the National Center on Education Statistics (NCES) found that, during the 1999-2000 school year, 29% of schools reported having more difficulty with student bullying than with any other single discipline problem. A similar 2004 NCES report, Indicators of School Crime and Safety, found that, in…

The HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills) program was started 25 years ago in the belief that educationally disadvantaged students (Title I and learning disabled) were bright and that the top priority for supplemental aid for these students should be to help them channel that innate intelligence into learning at a higher level. The students were…

Educational policy climate of the 1980s is being shaped not by educational research but by appeals to public opinion that emphasize standardized achievements, local classrooms, heightened yet vague requirements of teachers, technological solutions to educational problems, and private school methods. (JW)

Explores problematic charter-school characteristics that must be changed to improve American education: lack of innovative practices and improved academic outcomes; disproportionate administrative costs; segregation of students by ethnicity, income level, and special needs; and deplorable physical learning environments. More competition, planning,…

Discusses 12 essential principles to help schools teach democratic values in a multicultural society. Derived from findings of the Multicultural Education Consensus Panel to review and synthesize research on diversity, principles are organized into five categories: Teacher learning; student learning; intergroup relations; school governance,…