This unit was created as a result of a summer institute sponsored by the National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. The Center's goal is to improve student learning of foreign languages in kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12). In the summer of 1996, the Center offered the Culture and Children's…

Identifies trends in 1994 professional education literature, including school reform, national standards, school choice and vouchers, charter schools, outcome-based education and performance assessment, religious right's political gains, school safety, violence, conflict mediation, finance, adolescents and children at risk, vocational education,…

Traces the origins and development of the National Standards for Arts Education. Discusses the long-term effects the national standards might have on preservice and inservice teacher education. Questions whether national standards might lead to a standardization in arts education that would hamper teacher and student creativity. (CFR)

Argues that content standards that are aligned with tests are the wrong starting point for systemic school change aimed at improving teaching and learning and that national standards are the wrong vehicle. Policies should attempt to create a system in which community involvement, teacher knowledge, and equalized school capacity are starting points…

Describes the "Information Power: Partnerships for Student Learning" (1998) guidelines and their significance for school library media specialists. Discusses standards in three broad areas (information literacy, independent learning, and social responsibility), roles and responsibilities of media specialists technology integration,…

Mass testing as a phenomena of global educational restructuring exacerbates social class differences. This phenomenon is examined via inner-city Winnipeg's experience, cross-cultural educational literature, and the Manitoba government's tendency to reinforce the underdevelopment of core area regions. Emerging resistance to educational…

This volume comprises the refereed proceedings of the 2006 ATLAANZ (Association of Tertiary Learning Advisors of Aotearoa/New Zealand) conference. The 11 articles are arranged according to the conference's sub-themes of perspectives, partnerships and projections relating to the work of learning advisors. In Chapter 1, Susan Crozier explores the…

The National Assessment Summit was designed to bring together users and producers of assessments and engage them in a discussion of unmet assessment needs and untapped assessment capacities. The meeting was truly a summit in that national foreign language organizations and associations were asked to nominate representatives to bring their…

The General Accounting Office (GAO), at the request of the House Committee on Education and Labor, Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary, and Vocational Education, conducted studies on the extent and cost of testing in the United States, the experience of Canada in testing, and initial efforts to set standards for judging student performance on…

This monograph summarizes educational policy trends of the past 5 years in terms of their implications for the educational outcomes of students with disabilities. The first section reviews the gradual development of federal and state policies concerning goal and standard-setting activities, accountability, and large-scale and alternative…

Establishment of a national-state system of world-class occupational skill standards is a first step in restructuring adult vocational-technical education and job training programs. Occupational skills standards provide the necessary foundation for addressing three major state policy issues: the state's proper role in private work-based training,…

A brief sketch is presented of the assessment strategies of the College Board in two unique programs, EQUITY 2000 and Pacesetter, both works in progress that attempt to meet the challenges of the new era of equity and excellence in education. EQUITY 2000, launched in 1990, is a multi-faceted approach to closing the gap between college-going rates…

This curriculum package contains materials developed through a partnership of the Association of Rotational Molders, El Paso Community College (Texas), and the College of DuPage (Illinois). The materials, which were developed during a 2-day DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) process, are based on national skill standards and designed for…

This analysis covers tasks performed by a farm equipment mechanic, an occupational title some provinces and territories of Canada have also identified as agricultural machinery technician, agricultural mechanic, and farm equipment service technician. A guide to analysis discusses development, structure, and validation method; scope of the…

This analysis covers tasks performed by an insulator, an occupational title some provinces and territories of Canada have also identified as heat and frost insulator. A guide to analysis discusses development, structure, and validation method; scope of the occupation; trends; and safety. To facilitate understanding the nature of the occupation,…