The following two types of student mobility stand out as causing educational problems: (1) inner-city mobility, which is prompted largely by fluctuations in the job market; and (2) intra-city mobility, which is caused by upward mobility or by poverty and homelessness. Most research indicates that high mobility negatively affects student…

Urban school restructuring, although it can break down bureaucracy and empower teachers, can also seem distant from the day-to-day problems of most teachers, and even increase teacher burnout. Many of the following initiatives of the school restructuring movement may intensify a teacher's frustration: (1) school-based management may raise the…

Even though middle schools are important in retaining at-risk students, the organization and curriculum of most of them do not meet the developmental needs of young adolescents. Improvements should focus on making middle and junior high schools function less like large, impersonal high schools and more like caring, nurturing elementary schools,…

Much of the evaluation of vocational education at the state and local levels has been conducted in response to federal legislation. Although some of the evaluative information has been useful for program improvement, much has been collected only for compliance with federal and state mandates. The educational reform movement has prompted school…

This brief retrospective outlines major points in the history of American Indian education and major issues in Indian curriculum and teacher training. From the arrival of Europeans until recent times, formal schooling for American Indians has been controlled by others--first missionaries, then the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). After World War…

The 1980s were years of concern about the curricula in elementary and secondary schools. Throughout the decade educators in the social studies, as well as in other fields of knowledge, formed curriculum study groups to assess the status quo and to recommend improvements in widely distributed reports. This ERIC Digest examines: (1) four social…

Children of migrant farmworkers are among the segments of the population most difficult to educate. Data from 1974 indicates the average migrant student had a 40% chance of reaching ninth grade, an 11% chance of reaching 12th grade, and a less than 10% chance of graduating from high school. Factors correlated with students quitting school are…

This document argues that current efforts to establish a national test to measure progress toward the nation's educational goals will inhibit, rather than advance, educational reform. Proponents of a national test have asked for single, primarily multiple-choice tests, or for performance assessments to measure progress toward the nation's…

Blue ribbon commissions in the United States from 1965-1983 are discussed with attention to what makes a commission effective, the history of blue ribbon commissions, features of a commission, whether these commissions are useful on campus, and criticisms of blue ribbon commissions. Factors that contribute to the effectiveness of a blue ribbon…

This digest discusses how well authentic mathematics assessment tests can be expected to meet the needs of mathematics instruction that focuses on conceptual insights and analytical skills. In the new mathematics curriculum, situational lessons or real-life problems attempt to include dimensions of thinking and reasoning, individual or small-group…

By 1992, according to a study by the Council of Chief State School Officers, more than 3.5 million computers were in U.S. elementary and secondary schools--a ratio of one computer for every 13 students. In addition, 99 percent of all schools across the country reported that they provide their students with some access to computers. Sometimes…