Richmond Ballet's Mind in Motion program offers selected students an opportunity to take group dance lessons during 4th grade. Time taken away from academic instruction did not have a negative effect on standardized test scores and students reported feelings of greater success in school, more focus on school work, and greater ability to work with…

The idea that the American education system is at risk is not a new one. This notion was brought to the top of the public agenda 25 years ago with the publication of "A Nation at Risk," and is still actively being addressed through legal reforms, mandates, and laws. In this article, the authors narrow the focus of "A Nation at Risk" to consider a…

In panel discussions and brainstorming sessions, participants at PDK's Summit on Global Education shared their ideas for ensuring that a global perspective becomes an integral part of teaching and learning. Ms. Young was on the scene and summarizes the many angles that were addressed.

This article describes Brookline High School's new Tutorial Program, an alternative to the more traditional special education learning center. The Tutorial serves students with learning disabilities, replacing conventional special education support with academic guidance from regular classroom teachers. Tutorial students meet daily with a team of…

The Key Learning Community in Indianapolis was the first school in the world to base its approach on the theory of multiple intelligences. Ms. Kunkel, Key's principal, reflects on the school's continuing growth and success--even in the face of pressures to standardize--and shares the history of its founding. (Contains 5 endnotes.)

In this article, the authors report the results of the 39th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the public's attitudes toward the public schools. This year's report examined the public's assessment of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and its principal strategy, standardized testing. The authors include a summary of key findings and tables showing…

Upper elementary teachers won't be surprised to learn that in every state, students enrolled in grades 3 through 8 bear the brunt of educational accountability. All states test all students at these grade levels in English/language arts and mathematics. Furthermore, an increasing number of states are testing students at selected elementary and…

Since the days of the reform movements of the 1980s and 1990s, standardized testing has increased greatly in the public schools. The problem has become particularly acute in the wake of the testing mandated for accountability under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. States simply can not afford to jeopardize their federal funding. This article…

The author rebuts two points in an article from the November issue that criticized those who criticize standardized tests. (IRT)

The arts have always gotten short shrift in the schools, but the current standardized testing craze has put them in even greater jeopardy. At one elementary school in Oregon, however, the arts take center stage for a full week each year. The week includes the following themed days: (1) Dance Day; (2) Music Day; (3) Theater Day; and (4) Writing…

In January 2004 the author published an article in the Kappan titled "The Test Mess." In it, he examined how the state and federal accountability and tests were going. It was clear at that time that tests and accountability were not going to disappear--or even diminish--as the central mechanisms of the national effort to improve…

This article presents a reply to "Edison Is the Symptom, NCLB Is the Disease" by Peter Campbell--a critique that portrayed the school as an exploitative environment, a veritable plantation subjugating poor minority children through mind-numbing, compliance-inducing drills. The author refutes the specific charges leveled against…

Many teachers gaze in wonder at the professional teaching standards to which they are expected to adhere. Such standards too often ask more of teachers than they can possibly deliver. It is especially disconcerting that teaching standards are actually at odds with an educational environment dominated by ill-conceived accountability schemes and…

Failure is inevitable and can be conducive to great learning and discovery. However, some failures exact too high a human cost to justify. All of this may sound like a contradiction: freedom to fail and avoidance of human cost at the same time. However, the crux of the matter is coming to understand how leadership supports failures in order to…

Discusses the inadequacies of the California High School Proficiency Examination and examines how the test has usurped every school board's responsibility to define and implement a meaningful education. (Author/IRT)