This book examines the appropriateness and technical quality of teacher licensure tests currently in use, evaluating teacher licensure tests and examining the use of tests to hold states and institutions of higher education accountable for the quality of teacher preparation and licensure. It also suggests alternatives for developing and assessing…

A growing movement to ground school curriculum in locally relevant material--often called place-based education--is capturing the attention of many rural educators. Some see this approach as a way to address the decline of rural communities, including the outmigration of youth, by preparing students to live productive and fully engaged lives in…

This report revisits several key questions examined in a 1999 report, "Title I Midstream: The Fight to Improve Schools for Poor Kids," investigating whether all states have: set standards for student performance; measured attainment of standards with assessments that meet Title I requirements; and developed accountability systems…

Examines English school inspection before and since 1993 reforms, observations procedures that some schools have adopted, and procedures of various colleges. The balance of accountability and support for improvement varies depending on the details and culture of inspection. In the United States, some experiments with inspection are occurring, and…

The role and performance of the engineering and scientific institutions in the UK have been undergoing gradual change in response to external, State and global influences. Consequently, the institutions are having to adapt and in the process of doing so the traditional balance between learned society and qualifying association activities is now in…

This report presents U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige's "back to school" address to the National Press Club on September 4, 2001. Noting that little progress has been made despite $147 billion spent on federal education programs since the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the speech discusses the principles of the…

This pamphlet for parents in English presents the components of the "No Child Left Behind" policy of the George W. Bush administration. Prefaced with remarks by President Bush and Secretary of Education Rod Paige, the pamphlet discusses the importance of high academic standards and provides guidance for parents in interpreting test…

This pamphlet for parents Spanish presents the components of the "No Child Left Behind" policy of the George W. Bush administration. Prefaced with remarks by President Bush and Secretary of Education Rod Paige, the pamphlet discusses the importance of high academic standards and provides guidance for parents in interpreting test scores.…

Supports William Clune's focus on outputs, rather than inputs and procedures. However, national and state standard setting and systemic reform would foster more school improvement and educational equity than the single-school approach. Focus on outcomes allows considerable local curricular discretion. Schools should be held accountable for student…

This paper discusses how the 2000 standards of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) can be used in state accreditation standards to promote accountability. It describes standards 1 and 2: candidate knowledge, skills, and dispositions and assessment system and unit evaluation, then presents a few examples of…

In April 1999, the (Australian) Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs established a taskforce on making educational equality for Indigenous peoples a national priority; enhancing the performance and monitoring framework for the National Indigenous Education Strategic Initiatives Programme (IESIP); and developing…

This comparison of standards-based reform with rural school improvement efforts that emphasize locally responsive, place-based curricula reveals differences and similarities in the two movements. The standards-based movement is focused on setting state and national standards that all students must meet, suggesting a common curricular focus. Most…

Describes the Transforming Education through the Arts Challenge (TETAC) initiative. Discusses issues to be addressed if change in arts education is to be achieved, specifically teacher preparation, professional development, networking, and standards and accountability. (CMK)

Performance assessment can help educators develop ways to reveal individual students' distinctive features and secure information about learning. These opportunities will be wasted unless the public's attitudes and expectations toward schooling are changed. Attitudes cannot change without revising policies inhibiting school children's educational…

This paper presents four major teacher education reform thrusts in the United States, touching on several important characteristics of the U.S. context for teacher education: the locus of control for education; both private and public control over teacher education; the loss of faith in education; disagreement over whether teacher education needs…