This commentary offers an analysis of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). The paper purports that the most serious problems in the U.S. education system stem from a lack of resources, particularly at the secondary level. This lack of resources leads to a large disparity in student academic achievement within the United States.…

Research literature, perceptions of best practices, and the wisdom of practitioners and leaders in the field were examined in order to focus on career development issues affecting secondary schools, including: (1) clarification of career development terms; (2) delivery of career development programs; (3) resources that support program development…

Maintains that the development of national standards provides resources for social studies curriculum development. Discusses the theme of continuity and change and asserts that elementary students can understand chronology. Provides a bibliographic essay and a list of nine recommended children's books and six teacher resources. (CFR)

Contends that strides have been made toward fair representation of music in public education. Asserts that the results of the Goals 2000 and the national effort of the Music Educators National Conference will bring a new era. Discusses the national standards and three challenges to the music education. (CFR)

Proposals for a significant improvement in education include the following: an alternative program for low performing students; a school-plus plan that extends the school year; a program that gives students the option of returning to take classes; choice for the neighborhood school; a program for students who show an affinity for science and…

While school leaders have long sought a definitive tool for assessing teacher affect and dispositions, a practical method for measurement has proven elusive. This book presents a conceptual framework that helps educators understand what "appropriate dispositions" are, why it is important to measure them, and how to implement an assessment process…

This document records the written and oral testimony of witnesses at a hearing on the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. The act has three main components: (1) to provide grants to states and local schools for comprehensive educational reform; (2) to promote the establishment of voluntary national education standards to assist states and local…

Recommendations by the National Council on Education Standards and Testing (NCEST) are provided concerning whether national standards and a system of assessments are desirable and feasible and how national standards and a system of assessments are to be developed and implemented. The NCEST found that the absence of explicit national standards…

This report describes the work of the Charlotte Collaborative, a partnership between North Carolina's Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS), the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Johnson C. Smith University. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) chose CMS to develop a model for other school systems to use in…

In order to assess the impact of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification process, the NBPTS commissioned two surveys in 2001. The first survey examined the impact of the assessment process on teachers who had achieved NBPTS certification. Researchers sent surveys to 600 National Board certified teachers (NBTCs)…

Maintains that the multiage primary school approach is rapidly gaining advocates across the nation. Asserts that the thematic approach used in the National Council for the Social Studies national standards provides a structure for this curriculum schema. Discusses teachers' concerns about curriculum change and strengths of the nongraded primary…

Empirical evidence concerning the promise of setting national standards for school improvement is assembled. From this evidence, it is predicted that standards will not lead to the standardization of educational practice, stifled creativity, or minority-student endangerment. Benefits, which are less easily predicted, will depend on the quality of…

Presents the proposals to improve workforce preparation from the report "America's Choice": (1) require attainment of high national standards of educational performance; (2) create learning environment that ensures this attainment; (3) establish professional certifications for non-college bound persons; (4) have employers allocate 1 percent of…

This essay reviews the principles motivating contemporary"critical mathematics" discourses. Drawing from varied critical discourses including ethno-mathematics, critical theory, post-structural theory, and situated and ecological cognition, the essay examines the pragmatics of critiques to the privileged role of school mathematics in the…

Maintains that the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) achieved an important symbolic victory by being a primary developer of the National Standards for Arts Education. Presents and discusses five issues related to the Goals 2000 program in general and the standards related to music education in particular. (CFR)