The National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics has developed a list of ten basic processes in mathematics which all students need to learn. The back-to-the-basics thrust in education must address the development of these and other skills. (MJB)

From a comparative and historical perspective, American public schools have done a fairly creditable job of providing young people with necessary academic skills. (Author/MLF)

Competency-based education asks educators and the public to give up decades of habits and assumptions regarding the structures and methods of schooling. (Author/IRT)

A program that is used to assist students in overcoming the deficiencies in basic skills in mathematics without making major changes in existing mathematics programs is described. (JT)

In response to the challenge to teach basics, schools can choose among a number of alternative ways of giving the word "basics" a local definition. Discusses five guidelines for interpreting "basics". (Author/RK)

E. D. Hirsch responds to the critique of his article on the need for cultural literacy. He insists that teaching traditional content is socially progressive. (Author/MD)

Indicates that responsibility for literacy occurs at both the preschool and adolescent years, that the experiences of students are being valued and built upon as well as being enriched by a variety of literary models, and that the interwoven nature of writing and reading is becoming a major ingredient in classrooms. (EL)

Reports on school research identifying and setting priorities for essential skills needed by the end of primary school to enable students to function effectively in Australian society. (MD)

Research and curriculum development projects have investigated ways to make teaching and learning basic facts easier. Reseach results and implications from four major projects are presented. Ten specific guidelines are then given and illustrated by examples from addition. Modifying instructional sequence and matching learning tasks with learning…

Argues that the problems of achieving educational excellence are more complex and difficult than envisioned by the National Commission on Excellence in Education. (RH)

Minimum competency testing in Louisiana emphasizes individual needs (as delineated in the indiviualized education program) regardless of special education classification. Nine format/procedural modifications are allowed on the Basic Skills Test, including braille editions and extended time. Test administration and score reporting may also be…

Are certain basic (manipulating and other) skills still necessary in math teaching? This paper provides examples to demonstrate that modern computers and hand-held technologies can be used to encourage students of all levels to practice those skills. The examples have proven to be successful in classrooms, and there are many other possibilities to…

Fifty procedures for implementing a variety of skills are presented. For example, to help students predict outcomes, draw inferences, and identify data to suggest or refute conclusions, teachers can have students read to a designated point in a reading selection and then brainstorm various ways the selection could end. (RM)

Lack of speech training at home and school is creating a nation of oral illiterates who are unable or afraid to express their thoughts verbally. We must demand that the study of speech be central to both elementary and secondary curriculums, taught as a separate subject by qualified instructors. (Author/SJL)