Russian is and will probably continue to be an intruder in the secondary-school curriculum. Like all intruders, it will gain and retain ground slowly and with difficulty and will tend to lose ground quickly and easily. It will be difficult for a high school Russian program to continue to attract and hold the enrollment needed to justify its…

"Focus on Policy" is NCSALL's (National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy's) newest publication. Its purpose is to synthesize research findings and highlight policy implications of these findings. "Focus on Policy" forgoes the usual academic conventions to provide its readers with an easy-to-understand summary…

An increase in nontraditional students in traditionally white South African universities suggests the need for a new learning environment. Semistructured interviews with six Rand Afrikaans University students focus on this transformation process and the various ways to manage it, with implications for the university discussed. The interview…

This document reviews elementary and secondary education reform movements in California in relation to student preparation for higher education, particularly whether movements now underway are substantive and convincing. The report reviews the national context for educational reform and California's role in that movement. Discussion of reforms in…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Governor Bush Signs Middle Grades Reform Act, Sends 250 Reading Coaches into Florida Middle Schools; (2) The…

The Southern Regional Education Board's (SREB) Making Schools Work (MSW) initiative works with clusters of high schools and their feeder middle grades to raise student achievement in rural areas. MSW is based on the belief that all students can complete an "advantaged" curriculum, although some students may require more time,…

MDC, Inc.'s Alliance for Achievement was a 4-year school change demonstration aimed at encouraging more students to continue their education beyond high school by linking middle schools, high schools, and community colleges into a unified continuum. Implemented in six southern communities, it focused on increasing minority and low-income student…

A discussion of Chinese- and English-medium instruction in Hong Kong schools, particularly at the levels of secondary and higher education, focuses on recent recommendations for improved instruction and articulation. The discussion is presented in two parts. The first presents the response of the University of Hong Kong's Language Centre to the…

Northwest Guilford High School, Guilford County (North Carolina), is an essentially rural, largely white school that serves about 1,200 students from all socioeconomic levels. An evaluation was conducted of a heterogeneous grouping project involving students in a 2-year sequence of algebra for those who scored below the 40th percentile on a…

Issues concerning declining college enrollments of black students are addressed, with attention to: the need for both access and quality, trends affecting college enrollment, and targets for state action. It is argued that black student access to higher education will be a hollow achievement unless it is access to a quality education. At virtually…

THIS DOCUMENT IS A COLLECTION OF FIFTEEN PAPERS PRESENTED AT THE COLLOQUIUM ON THE CHALLENGE OF CURRICULAR CHANGE. BROADER TOPICS DISCUSSED INCLUDE--(1) THE EXTENT AND CHARACTERISTICS OF CURRICULAR CHANGE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS, (2) THE RESPONSES OF COLLEGES TO THESE CHANGES, THE BARRIERS TO CHANGE IN THE COLLEGES, AND SOME CURRENT EXPERIMENTS WHICH…

This guide provides business leaders with a starting point for establishing a dialogue on higher education reform. Business leaders have a vested interest in ensuring that our institutions of higher education remain accessible, accountable, and affordable, because higher education provides the skilled workforce that businesses increasingly need.…

This book offers a perspective on the science education enterprise that individuals can use as they attempt to understand what happens in science classrooms and what should happen. This book is a historical account of ideas in science education that covers the time period from approximately the middle of the nineteenth century to 1991. How science…

The challenge of equal educational opportunity in California and lessons from student affirmative action efforts are considered in a California Postsecondary Education Commission task force report, which also offers recommendations to promote high school and college preparation and educational opportunities for low income and minority students.…

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Seniors Class of 1972 (NLS) and from High School and Beyond (HS&B), this study documents changes in the academic achievement of high school seniors between 1972-1980. It also identifies the school and student factors related to these changes. Its purpose is to inform…