There's broad commitment to ensuring that all high-school graduates are college- and career-ready, but heated debate about the best means of achieving that goal. The big question is, how can schools both respect the diversity of students' interests and ambitions and set a high bar for all? In this forum, two longtime advocates of high…

Rudyard Kipling wrote "The Road to Mandalay" in 1892 when Burma was a British colony and Queen Victoria was the Empress of India. In the poem, Mandalay is a city some 500 miles along the Irrawaddy River from the capital, Rangoon. British troops stationed in Burma were transported on the river by paddle steamers. The picture painted of…

In order to keep student athletics in a proper perspective to the complete educational program, principals must make clear their emphasis on scholastic endeavors. This article suggests several ways a principal can promote positive attitudes toward and among high school athletes. (WD)

Academic rigor has been viewed as an educational monster and so it is if defined in terms of lockstep curriculum, harsh discipline, and useless rote learning. Rigor in its best sense means challenging each student toward individual excellence. This kind of rigor should be welcomed. (SJL)

Eligibility standards for participating in extracurricular activities are definitely needed. The question is whether minimal or more restrictive standards are most effective to meet academic requirements. This article presents arguments for both minimal and higher standards and suggests that chosen standards should be a positive motivating force.…

Argues, in the context of national concern about standards in writing, for a reconceptualisation of the teaching of writing that acknowledges both the significance of the writer's voice and the need to teach about how written texts create meaning. Considers how young writers need opportunities to express their ideas and support in developing…

Discusses the difficulties of establishing national educational standards in a content area such as social studies. Describes how national standards are being studied and might be instituted. (HB)

The efficiency and effectiveness of the nation's human capital pipeline has become a prime area of focus in the policy arena, spurred on by international data that show the U.S. lagging in high school and college completion. For policymakers, education leaders, and even students and parents, it is becoming increasingly clear that the transition…

Describes the five-year effort of the Allentown, Pennsylvania School District to develop districtwide final examinations to test the mastery of course objective in its secondary schools. (FL)

The reforms urged by "A Nation at Risk" and "American Education: Making It Work" are examined in the context of vocational education. Also considered is how vocational programs can remain viable during the broadscale efforts to improve education, without emphasis on vocational programs by some administrators. (Author/CH)

Describes the role of the Carnegie unit in enforcing standards regarding high school instruction and college admission. Reviews growing criticisms of the unit's standards regarding the emphases on time spent in courses, course labels instead of content, the current instructional organization of discrete 40-minute segments, and units earned instead…

Suggests a program for the semiskilled worker or nonacademic student that could help address the present needs of the students as well as prepare them for future careers. (WD)

A high school writing teacher provides insights about her grading procedures by "writing letters" to typical students in various grade categories. (RL)

Argues that the "Standards for the English Language Arts" (SELA) gives English teachers direction. Discusses what "teaching English" means. Suggests that SELA is not a prescriptive list of measurement items nor a cookbook for skillful English teaching: SELA is a statement of principles of, for, and by professionals, and a K-12 statement of…

Traces the public furor that greeted the National Council of Teachers/International Reading Association's "Standards for the English Language Arts." Discusses responses to criticisms. Argues that the language in the "Standards" is flat; the standards are meant to be guidelines, not mandates; and the emphasis was on process. (RS)