This literature review compares international and New Zealand research and international program information on teacher competencies and preservice and inservice teacher education, addressing two issues: (1) what literature identifies as key competencies required by quality beginning and practicing teachers in the current social, economic, and…

The Regional Forums (RFMs) conducted by the National Education Goals Panel (NEGP) to solicit public comments on recommendations by the six NEGP Resource Groups (RGPs) are described. The RGP recommendations focus on ways of measuring/monitoring the nation's/states' progress toward meeting the President's and governors' six national education goals.…

Minimal competency testing is the most recent evolution of the accountability movement and of the competency based education movement. It focuses on the basic academic skills of reading, writing, and arithemtic. It presumes the state will set educational objectives, and that the local school district will conduct its program so that the objectives…

Affirming the basic value of the emphasis in much recent literature on the need for increased school effectiveness, the author argues that more attention should be given to the problem of "school climate" and to a resolution of the tension between state-mandated uniformity and school-level autonomy. (JBM)

This paper describes the background of various accountability systems, discusses policy issues related to the use of educational accountability information, and offers a history of the school-accountability law in Nevada. The paper concludes that because policymakers continue to express concerns about uniform measurements and comparability, it is…

This report addresses issues concerned with reporting educational results for students with disabilities, identifies principles to guide reporting practices, and offers recommendations. The report notes that there are many purposes for reporting and that reporting information on students with disabilities is important because it ensures that they…

This policy brief takes a close look at the ways in which the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)-1995 and TIMSS-1999 data have helped to inform changes in policy and practice as schools, districts, and states respond to the call for improvement in mathematics and science achievement. This policy brief is based primarily on…

A study of science and math education systemic reform in rural schools aimed to help educators understand and build upon the inherent strengths of rural schools and communities that support systemic reform. The first phase of the study involved developing a system of indicators for each of six drivers of educational system reform: 1)…

This paper examines reading issues and strategies for the 21st century, analyzing interventions that could become models for ensuring quality and alignment in preservice teacher education and reviewing the "Gap Analysis of Preservice and Inservice Teacher Training of Reading Instruction: Large-Scale Survey Study." It also synthesizes findings from…

An on-line symposium on January 13, 1999, brought together policymakers, educators, parents, students, and local community reformers to discuss rural perspectives on academic standards. As part of an on-line dialogue extending from November 1998 to March 1999, the symposium linked on-line participants to panelists and participants in Burlington,…

In January 2005, the National Education Association (NEA) partnered with the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) to host the National Summit on Asian and Pacific Islander Issues in Education. The Summit brought together over 50 researchers, leaders of national organizations, and NEA members to discuss the status of…

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.…

Identifies and comments on the educational assumptions, policies, and practices that are in harmony with learner- centered schools (processes and purposes of schooling, people in schools, and structure of schools), noting those that serve as repressors to achieving such schools (meritocracy and instrumentality, competition and standards,…

Discusses educational standards, core curricula, competence models, school autonomy, school evaluation, and from input-to output-control as important catchwords in the present education and school policy debate. Points out that the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) has triggered a new educational debate in Germany that calls for…

The Annenberg Rural Challenge believes that high academic standards can help achieve excellence, but can also be exploited to serve other political purposes. Standards should originate in the community. The policy statement discusses three kinds of standards, the dangers of standards, and the relationship between high standards and educational…