This paper describes a major initiative in the Commonwealth of Kentucky to develop a statewide, standards-based, student report card for reporting the learning progress of individual students at all grade levels (K-12). Led by a team of researchers with expertise in grading and reporting, 36 educators from three diverse school districts created…

A description is given of the state-mandated Kentucky Beginning Teacher Internship Program. Upon successful completion of a teacher education program and passing required tests, a teacher candidate is issued a certificate of eligibility that is valid for one year, and in the course of the next four years must successfully complete a year of…

This paper reports on a project undertaken by the Australian Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) organization in New South Wales to develop a set of teacher competencies for TESOL instructors. The paper describes how these competencies were developed, outlines general areas of teacher and TESOL competence, and examines in…

The experience of Kansas communication educators in developing speaking and listening assessment has been characterized by unusual cooperation and collaboration among members of the educational community and the professional communication organizations at several different levels. In 1992, the Kansas State Legislature established the Quality…

This study examined factors that have contributed to the development of school/university partnerships in Connecticut, and identified obstacles to partnership activities. The research design included review of collaborative activities required by State Department of Education standards at 12 Connecticut teacher education programs. The standards…

This paper describes a program designed to provide a unified sequence of graduate studies for principal certification in Alaska. The University of Alaska Learning Cooperative offers a single set of statewide program requirements, which reduces the costly duplication of instructional services and staff-development programs. The paper describes the…

This report includes highlights of three regional ECS Early Childhood Project conferences which dealt with needs assessment and planning, child abuse, and day care services. Participants were individuals from state government concerned with planning and delivery services to young children and their families. Needs assessment and planning was…

There is agreement among most physical education professionals that the quality of graduate programs in physical education must be more closely monitored. There is general agreement that graduate degree programs in physical education are being offered by some institutions that have inadequate faculties, inadequate facilities, and inadequate…

This paper presents an extensive review of the current literature related to the use of performance-based assessment in the preparation of teachers, and includes references to the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Curriculum (INTASC) and the Arkansas standards for licensure of beginning teachers. The paper also describes the use of…

In response to a mandate from the Ohio State Board of Education, Bowling Green State University (Ohio) revised its teacher education curriculum to include clinical/laboratory teaching experiences as well as field experiences. Clinical experiences are defined as learning activities which may, but do not necessarily, take place off the college…

In September 1994, the New Mexico Commission on Higher Education issued standards for the State Postsecondary Reporting Entity (SPRE). To comply with these standards, New Mexico State University-Alamogordo (NMSU-A) decided to use its integrated Assessment and Strategic Planning (IASP) process, developed during a pre-accreditation self-study in…

In September 1994, the New Mexico Commission on Higher Education issued standards for the State Postsecondary Reporting Entity (SPRE). To comply with these standards, New Mexico State University-Alamogordo (NMSU-A) decided to use its Integrated Assessment and Strategic Planning (IASP) process, developed during a pre-accreditation self-study in…

Faculty development programs for schools of education were mandated in 1980 by the Oklahoma State Legislature. Among approved standards each institution must meet are: (1) submission to the Oklahoma State Department of Education of faculty development plans and yearly reports of additions or revisions; (2) inclusion of at least one classroom…

In 1979, Act 187, known now as the Educator Improvement Act, was mandated by the legislature of the State of South Carolina. One tenet of Act 187 was the establishment of an Educator Improvement Task Force to develop an instrument which could effectively measure minimal teaching competencies. To help in the content and design of the instrument,…

To determine the extent of state-mandated staff development activity in the states, a study involving the chief education officer from each of the 50 states was conducted, and the results are reported in this paper. The study and report focus on the following: (1) states mandating staff development programs; (2) states planning legislation…