This paper presents results from a survey of parents of school age children in Louisiana to understand their knowledge of and attitudes toward sex education. Louisiana adolescents rank amongst the highest in the nation for teen births and sexually transmitted infections. Louisiana does not require instruction in sex education at any grade level.…

Much research has noted the misalignment between kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) academic standards and curriculum materials used in classrooms. Many states and education organizations have been pushing for greater use of standards-aligned curriculum, especially during the past several years. In this report, the authors share results…

Officials of state education agencies are not known for hyperbole. Maintaining data systems, drafting rules and regulations, and monitoring compliance are not the stuff of breathless raves--especially in Louisiana, whose education system ranks near the bottom nationwide on measures of student achievement and high-school graduation rates. Yet in…

Instructional materials are a key means to achieving the goals of science education--an enterprise that yields unique and worthwhile benefits to individuals and society. As states and districts move forward with adoption and implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) or work on improving their instruction to align with "A…

The impetus for this report is new evidence that state department of education work to align instruction with standards may make a difference for teachers' practices and understanding about their state standards. Using data from the RAND American Teacher Panel, the authors found that Louisiana teachers were more likely than other teachers to…

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, it caused a devastating impact on the Crescent City's public education system. The devastating storm and its aftermath completely wiped out the educational infrastructure of the New Orleans Public Schools, making one of the country's largest metropolitan school districts virtually disappear. Two…

This paper proposes different strategies for teaching social studies in an integrated manner using Main Street as a laboratory. The paper consists of two parts. Part One is devoted to a discussion of the empirical study; the second part focuses on strategies for integrating Main Street into the K through 12 setting. Although data are presented…

Describes Louisiana's "Black Americans in United States History" course which is designed to increase student knowledge of Black accomplishments and enhance student self-image through identification with past and present Blacks. Recommends using the inquiry method of instruction, giving special consideration to springboards and the group…

A project identified consumer education content that Louisiana consumer and home economics teachers perceive as being important. It also evaluated content of curriculum guides currently available from states and determined if any of these meet the needs of home economics consumer education programs in Louisiana. A questionnaire was developed to…

Discusses the reintroduction of geography into national school curricula--specifically, Louisiana--as a consequence of the renewed emphasis on the mastery of basic academic subjects. Stresses the challenge of providing teacher training, teaching geography through concepts rather than facts, and makes recommendations for teaching world geography in…

Project 2061, a broad-based science reform movement, was launched by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to define the fundamental science and mathematics American students should know. A second phase of Project 2061 translated the defined learning goals…

A project was conducted to review industrial arts curriculum needs and to formulate recommendations relative to curriculum revision in Louisiana. The state was divided into three regions for administrative purposes. A needs assessment instrument was developed and mailed to each industrial arts teacher in the state (as of 1979), with a 50 percent…

Outlines the findings of a qualitative and primarily formative evaluation of Louisiana's Networking Infrastructures for Education pilot program to help develop a statewide educational technology network. This evaluation primarily focused on efforts to incorporate Internet applications for math and science curriculum in elementary and secondary…

During the 1985 session of the Louisiana legislature, House Concurrent Resolution No. 110 was passed requiring that the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education study the possibility of instituting a state-wide multiple-curriculum system in Louisiana's public schools. Tasks of the resulting 19-member curriculum committee focused on a…

Completion of a course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is required for graduation from high school in Louisiana. This bulletin presents the guidelines for a course in CPR and was prepared with the cooperation of the American Red Cross (ARC) and the American Heart Association (AHA). At the conclusion of the course, students will be prepared…