Authors discuss seven findings from a number of studies of local, state, and federal performance-based accountability systems conducted by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at Harvard University. (PKP)

Reprints of four articles from the journal "Phi Delta Kappan" provide discussions of initial findings from "A Study of Schooling," a study of contextual variables in 38 elementary, junior high/middle, and high schools. The project had two purposes: (1) to formulate hypotheses and provide insights about schooling through indepth…

Describes the Graduate Urban Education Program collaboratively developed by the school of Education at Florida International University, the Dade County (Florida) Public Schools, and the United Teachers of Dade for teachers in Chapter 1 elementary schools. The program helps teachers apply their professional training sucessfully in the urban…

Students who neither cause problems nor display giftedness tend to receive little attention in high schools. Research findings from thousands of observations in fifteen high schools suggest that the varied curricula that support special students allow average students to drift through school. Schools must be restructured to motivate average…

Examines schoolwide improvement programs initiated by four states. Describes successful endeavors of California, Ohio, and Colorado schools to improve curricula and student achievement and the Connecticut schools' strategy to improve principal-teacher communication. Attributes the success of these reform programs to solid leadership skills,…

Assumes that America's economic difficulties and resulting social tensions will continue over the next two decades. Predicts consequent negative and positive trends in curricular content and organization and in decision-making processes affecting curricular change. Suggests that social change is crucial if curricular change is to be effective.…

Through an Essex High School/University of Vermont partnership, students can complete all 33 credits of the teacher licensing program within high school walls. Each three-credit course includes theory-focused class meetings and action-focused practica that inspire students to develop and conduct action-research projects. As a roving education…

Outlines a framework for shaping reform policies on strategies for enhancing teacher capacity, using interview data from a study conducted in California, Michigan, and Vermont. Michigan has developed subject-matter objectives and assessments, Vermont uses a portfolio assessment system to help teachers learn about problem solving and develop new…

America is too diverse and teachers, parents, and community members are too skeptical to buy a one-size-fits-all curriculum. Four goals should drive reform: education for a changing economy, for continuing learning, for citizenship, and for personal growth and health. Governments, colleges, businesses, and the media have important supportive…

Current strategies for school renewal are based on outdated concepts emphasizing family involvement in schools. The function of the family has been fundamentally altered culturally, demographically, and economically. New strategies necessitate changing school governance structures and crossing the boundaries of private and public sectors. (MD)

Hirsch, author of "Cultural Literacy" (1987), wishes that progressive instructional methods were carefully monitored to see whether kids are actually learning. An "anti-subject-matter" orientation suits middle-class students better than kids from less educated families. Most elementary curricula stress "tool skills"…

Directed to improve administrative leadership effectiveness, the Philadelphia School District's new regional superintendent determined that participant research and practitioner inquiry would encourage principals, teachers, and support staff to become a community engaged in thinking, learning, and working together to educate urban learners. Staff…

This position paper denounces what the author considers to be an increasing and excessive reliance on computers and technological advancements generally as panaceas for educational and social problems whose real resolution demands the skills of "citizens with a basic liberal arts education" rather than those of technocrats. (JBM)

Informational, diagnostic, prescriptive functions of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are best served by governance structure composed of federal, state, and local members and a standing technical advisory board. Structure protects NAEP from undue federal influence and special interest groups, builds bridges to educators and…

High performing schools for young adolescents are developmentally responsive, academically excellent, and socially equitable. Necessary reform elements include professional development, technical assistance, coordination, networks, data-driven decision making, enlightened leadership, improved teacher preparation, a well-informed public, and…