In April 1991, members of the Kentucky Educational Research Association (KERA), held a conference to discuss performance assessment and its use in Kentucky schools. The following papers from the conference are included: (1) "Our Conference and the Performance Assessment Committee" (S. Kifer); (2) "Performance Assessment: A National…

This document is composed of a number of publications of Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) that relate to high quality school-to-work opportunities for young women. Contents include the following: myths and facts about nontraditional work; a list of nontraditional occupations (NTOs) for women; and women and nontraditional work factsheet with…

This report discusses the development and initial effectiveness of the Community Schools program, a collaborative effort in New York City's Community School District 6 designed to create a new institution that offers a broad range of services for students and their families. The program includes formal and parental education; summer camps; and…

Educators are faced with the task of teaching students to be responsible stewards of the world's natural resources. This curriculum focuses on three interrelated topics in this area: energy, economics, and the environment. The goal of this book is to: (1) teach students basic knowledge and concepts about energy, the environment, and economics; (2)…

An ethnographic study was conducted of the first year of implementation of the Accelerated Schools Project in a pilot middle school. The interaction between intervention and the existing school culture is studied through multiple interviews with teachers, support staff, administrators, students, and parents as well as observation and review of…

In discussing educational equity and Project Performance and Assessment Collaboratives for Education (PACE), the authors present an argument, a detailed illustration, and a set of imperatives for education in the United States. The argument examines the last century and a half of American educational practice to illustrate why we cannot simply…

An important component of sound middle school education is a commitment to providing coordinated advising and counseling services in the school setting. This handbook describes how middle school professionals can develop small group advisory support for each student. Known variously as home-base, advisor-advisee, or teacher advisory (TA) programs,…

To help determine how the introduction of alternate assessment can be structured to maximize its acceptance and long-term adoption by teachers, a case study was conducted of the introduction of alternate assessment in a suburban middle school in the spring of 1991. Three seventh-grade life science teachers, three eighth-grade physical science…

This formative report presents data collected through the second year of full operation (1990-1991) of Nolin Middle School for Environmental Science, in the Kansas City School District, Missouri. The report focuses on student demographics; program implementation information; achievement data; and perceptions of staff, parents, and students of the…

This study began with a thorough review of the literature on the professional development school (PDS) and developed a conceptual framework underlying the rhetoric for the PDS movement. It then constructed, by employing a case study approach, the school-based PDS faculty's vision on preservice teacher education in the PDS context and the…

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' (NCTM) "Curriculum and Evaluation Standards" recommends that mathematical connections be made between mathematics and other disciplines. This book presents 35 activities for middle school students that integrate the teaching of mathematical concepts with environmental concepts. An…

This curriculum, directed primarily to students in grades seven and eight, is a five-week sexuality education program designed to promote sexual abstinence as the best decision young people can make for themselves. The guide is divided into three general areas of emphasis. These sections are divided into six units that focus the content of the…

This proposal describes the organization and implementation of a "World Steel Drum Ensemble" as a strategy to solve the problems of low minority academic achievement, high minority discipline incidents, and minority isolationism. The drum ensemble studied and performed music from Caribbean, Hispanic, and African heritages in a middle…

Suitable for use in middle school classes, this interdisciplinary resource book on the culture of Appalachia is divided into 15 units. Topics covered are: stereotyping, values, geography, coal, people, family, housing, biographies, literature, music, crafts, dance, religion, wisdom, and change. Through a variety of learning activities and…

Intended for use as a resource in the planning and delivery of career education, this guide contains instructional activities for grades 6, 7, and 8. Materials are divided into the three grade levels. Each section begins with a listing of career education objectives and behaviors. Learning activities are provided that correspond to the behaviors…