Suggests there are flaws in the National Standards for United States History that could be detrimental to students. According to the author, in their pervasive present-mindedness and self-censorship, the standard's framers underestimate and ill-serve the students because the standards help develop a smug, superior, and self-righteous attitude…

Nothing is more important to America's future than teaching children the skills they need to be successful. Every child must receive a quality education if America is to be a prosperous and hopeful country. The rapidly changing global economy is creating new industries that compete for highly skilled workers from around the world, and young people…

Education policy leaders from across the political spectrum identified and evaluated four models that national standards and testing could take. These models are: (1) "The Whole Enchilada," the most direct and aggressive approach in which the federal government creates and enforces national standards and assessments, replacing the…

Continuous improvement in the quality of service offered to children, young people, parents and carers has been a key priority of the education system in Scotland over many years. Scottish pre-school centres and schools have well-established processes for self-evaluation based on the quality indicators in "How good is our school?" (1996,…

The goals and measures identified in this report provide insight to policymakers, higher education analysts, and parents and students throughout the nation. They are tools to understand the trend of nationwide standards so that California can make informed decisions about holding its postsecondary institutions accountable for the quality of…

There is an acute need to improve the quality of classroom teachers through improved standards for preservice programs and licensure and certification, especially in the middle grades. Several Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states are working to improve middle grades teacher quality. Some are raising standards on teacher licensure tests.…

This report describes the past 15 years of work by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) to raise the standards for teacher quality. The NBPTS identified five core propositions that describe the knowledge, skills, and dispositions characterizing accomplished teaching. It created professional standards for K-12 teachers,…

Compares the educational productivity of the United States with that of Japan and explains how confusion of policies, lower standards, and demographic trends have contributed to this situation. States that, given the willpower, we can utilize research findings to increase our national achievement standards. (MLF)

Findings from a study of teachers' views of the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) in England and Wales as a mechanism for improving secondary schools. Examines how teachers perceive the inspection process, whether Ofsted's process generates changes, and whether Ofsted's priorities agree with the school's. (Contains 44 references.) (WFA)

Examines problems with using public examinations to monitor educational standards over time. Educational standards cannot be measured with reference to pass rates, and a static examination standard cannot be applied from year to year, since applying the same standard repeatedly becomes more and more meaningless the further apart the comparison…

National Board Certification is intended to indicate that "a teacher is judged by his or her peers as one who is accomplished, makes sound professional judgments about students' best interests, and acts effectively on those judgments." This author, the first National Board Certified Art Teacher in Georgia, offers a first-hand perspective…

Discusses the difference national standards could make in the education of American children and of the public at large, noting that any educational improvements will be determined by the quality of the ensuing debate. The paper examines the debate over national standards in history education and makes suggestions for future debate. (SM)

Through participation in school music programs, students gain a sense of discipline, self-esteem, pride of accomplishment and learn to excel in teamwork, problem solving, leadership, creative thinking. Education Secretary Richard W. Riley and President Bill Clinton are strong advocates for enriched arts education for every child. Newly developed…

In a climate of increasing concern with educational accountability and quality, it has been important to reappraise the issues of assessment and evaluation in relation to early childhood care and education. This document is comprised of three papers describing approaches to assessment and evaluation used in Te Whariki, a national curriculum…

This book presents seven papers that focus on the design of standards for Professional Development Schools (PDSs), highlighting the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) Professional Development School Standards Project. The first paper, "Designing Standards That Work for Professional Development Schools"…