Reviews the history of the national standards movement. Discusses the standards developed by the Task Force on Standards of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). Describes the content and format of the NCSS standards, how they could be used, and what resources are necessary for effective implementation. (CFR)

Claims that national tests will improve student learning are explored, asking whether national examinations will ensure high-quality instruction and greater student learning and whether tests developed to meet urgent political deadlines will retain essential features of authentic curriculum-driven assessments. Part I presents research evidence on…

Complying with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has presented special problems for small, rural, and isolated schools. This document presents results of surveys and interviews of county and district superintendents, principals, teachers, trustees, and curriculum directors of small, rural, and isolated schools in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon,…

This issues brief discusses the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Specifically, it reports on the results of focus groups that explored where people stand on standards-based education and whether they are likely to support or abandon struggling schools. The focus groups consisted of more than 60 participants who represented a broad cross-section…

The purpose of this paper is four-fold. Following a brief review of recent policy recommendations, two failed attempts to restructure teacher compensation, merit pay, and career ladders are reviewed. Second, research-based recommendations for new approaches to restructuring teacher compensation are synthesized. Next, based on one of these…

Provides a curriculum conceptualization combining the new National Geographic Standards with the national standards developed by the National Council for the Social Studies. Presents a recommended list of seven books with accompanying learning activities for teaching about South Africa in the elementary social studies classroom. (CFR)

Summarizes some of the recent research concerning curriculum-based external exit exam systems (CBEEES) based on explicit content standards. Suggests that compulsory national standards and CBEEE-based reform of the precollege curriculum should lead to improvements in both teaching practices and student learning. Outlines the characteristics of a…

Representatives of business, industry, and education have long perceived a gap between students' existing skills and those needed in the workplace. To address this problem, a strong movement toward adopting voluntary skill standards is now seen within career and technical education (CTE). In this article, the author discusses how addressing skill…

Compares and contrasts the need for educational standards in the United States and Russia. Argues that both systems burden their students with an excess of peripheral and inconsequential material in order to satisfy outdated pedagogical objectives. Praises American efforts at creating national standards but questions their applicability to Russia.…

Presents a speech by the president of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), given at the organization's annual meeting. Discusses the national standards movement and contends that the NCSS standards integrate knowledge from the full spectrum of the social sciences and the humanities. (CFR)

The Goals 2000: Educate America Act, the centerpiece of the Clinton administration's education reform program, provides a fascinating case study of the challenges facing an activist administration in trying to craft federal legislation that can provide national direction and leadership in a highly decentralized education system. Goals 2000…

The purpose of this booklet, which draws on experience from all over the world, is to provide educational planners, administrators, and managers with analysis and information on using assessment to improve the quality of education. Assessment options and what research and other kinds of evidence reveal about their advantages and disadvantages are…

Maintains that improving preservice geography teacher education is difficult because few geography faculty understand the teacher education process and many education professors are not well-educated geographically. Discusses 13 recommendations to improve preservice geography teacher education. (CFR)

Describes the efforts of the Alaska Department of Education and geography educators to develop standards based on the National Geography Standards model. Discusses the statewide public consensus process and includes a chronological table of events. Provides six sample standards and performance criteria from the Alaska 2000 geography standards.…

"The Student Evaluation Standards" were born from the frustrations and concerns of many people who want the evaluations to better serve student learning. This paper describes those standards and how they serve student learning. The first part of this paper lays groundwork--context--by providing strong evidence that, at least in the…