High school is boring, writes the author, in part because lock-step diploma requirements crowd out personalized and engaged learning. It is also boring because current content standards are based on traditional, subject-area notions of curriculum instead of on the essential question, What do students need to be well prepared for their adult lives?…

Over the past three years, Patricia L. Scriffiny has transformed the grading system in her high school mathematics classroom by replacing the traditional points-based system with a standards-based system. Instead of assigning points for assignments, she lists student progress toward meeting clearly defined course objectives. In this article,…

Describes attributes of Met School, a small urban public high school in Providence, Rhode Island, where the individual student is the primary focus of instruction. Powerful relationships, high standards and expectations, and student interests and real work are the hallmarks of the instructional program. (PKP)

Argues that student who invested 12 years working hard, studying, and obeying teachers deserves diploma even though diploma's value may be suspect. In some states, like Alabama, value of 12-year investment can be reduced to zero by single multiple-choice test score. Schools must treat all students fairly by considering multiple intelligences and…

Since the state board adopted the Standards of Learning, Virginia high-school teachers maintain tighter schedules and more often use direct instruction instead of group activities to cover the new curriculum. A two-edged sword, the SOL has engendered an increased interest in professional collaboration. (MLH)

Many students falter in college because of a gap between their high school experiences and the higher expectations they encounter in college courses. Research has found that college instructors often expect students to exercise higher-level thinking skills, such as interpreting and analyzing information, supporting arguments with evidence, and…

Compared with minimum competency tests, curriculum-based external exit exams provide better measures of students' achievement levels. Analysis of Third Mathematics and Science Study data shows that 13 year-olds from exit-exam countries are ahead of nonparticipating countries. Effects on college enrollment, job success, and test scores are…

Describes a principal's elimination of low-track classes in a suburban New York high school. Non-Regents sections in all subjects other than math were abolished, and students were integrated into regular classes that take fairly rigorous, year-end Regents exams. As graduation neared, most "de-tracked" seniors had passed these exams; some…

For years, College Board has been promoting and publicizing necessary pathways to postsecondary education. Even bolder step is EQUITY 2000--demanding program of prealgebra, algebra, and geometry designed to ensure minority students' success in vigorous high school mathematics programs. Pacesetter initiative aims to make high-standards curriculum,…

In its valiant differentiation and detracking efforts, a Virginia high school hoped to assist all students in mastering state standards and enrich, excite, and challenge high-ability students via learning contracts and advanced material feeding their interests. However, disgruntled parents managed to reinstate the tracking system. (MLH)

David Niguidula, an education consultant who helped research the effectiveness of digital portfolios as an assessment tool in the mid-1990s, discusses core questions for schools planning to use digital portfolios. Schools must take time to identify the purpose of portfolios, plan what will go into portfolios, and decide how to assess portfolio…