In this, the second installment of a two-part report of the 46th annual PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools, the report unveils what Americans are thinking about public schools--in particular their views of teachers and the classrooms where they work. Some findings were surprising, others were not. For example,…

In the June "Kappan," Marc Tucker summarized the "Tough Choices" report, the sequel to a report issued in 1990 by a predecessor group, which attributed the nation's low productivity growth in the 1970s and 1980s to inadequate American schools. The authors critiqued it and charged Tucker with trying to stampede policy makers into adopting reckless…

Lists superintendent characteristics boards of education most often specified as desirable and suggests behavioral patterns that will help develop the four qualities most sought by boards. (IRT)

It appears that job placement is not a function of the quantity or quality of preparation for administration but, rather, of the social milieu in which such preparation occurs. (Author)

Outlines the research involved in the development of a new set of standards in teacher assessment by the Teacher Assessment Project at Stanford University (CA). The program is based on a conception of teaching as a unique activity that is more than the generic skills of pedagogy and that cannot be observed in any single setting. (MD)

Promotes the use of basic skills testing in the certification of new teachers and the recertification of veteran teachers. Presents the belief that better teaching will result from mandated teacher testing. (MD)

A comparison of a modern teacher certification exam with one administered more than a century ago suggests that teachers in 1876 were required to exercise a greater range of mathematical skills, concepts, and principles. (Author)

The licensing of teachers should be modeled against professions similar to teaching rather than professions like medicine and architecture that are vastly different. Applying similar licensing practices can raise the status of teaching. Ignoring these licensing practices will prevent teachers from functioning as professionals. (MD)

Research emphasizes the connection between effective schools and the degree and quality of principals' leadership. Ethnographic studies show that effective principals create organizational unity, exercise judgment with discretion and personal accountability, exploit confusion to their own advantage, and balance stability and innovation. Management…

Survey of 1,218 seniors in the 1989 graduating classes of Columbia College and Barnard College found that two-thirds of the respondents would consider taking a teaching job in a public school if one were offered the September following graduation. Roughly 36 percent of new liberal arts graduates might be willing to teach. This article explains…

Based on the Florida experience, one should expect, among other things, new problems for minority students, lawsuits against the tests, calls for tests of teachers, and scapegoating and blaming. (Author/IRT)

For a school to have a community of leaders, teachers must have opportunities to assume more responsibility, more decision-making power, and more accountability for the results. Teacher leadership can help build collegiality and break down communication barriers. Shared leadership models will persevere only if they are used to reorganize the work…

Establishing expectations for teachers, identifying deficiencies, providing assistance, and documenting the process are not always effective. School boards, administrators, and teacher unions must commit themselves to making teacher dismissals a realistic option. Otherwise, current reform efforts will consist more of rhetoric than substance. (MLH)

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and Texas teacher training institutions are squaring off because of Texas SB 994, a law that eliminates undergraduate degrees in education and caps required credit hours in undergraduate teacher education courses. This article interviews Carl Parker, Hendrik Gideonse, Mary…