The economic purpose of getting a job, or getting into college in order to get a better job, has evolved into the de facto primary purpose of K-12 (and higher) education. Business model solutions are seen by businessmen as the answer to education problems. But the business models they advocate and help fund are not a good fit for education…

Student engagement is an important consideration for teachers and administrators because it is explicitly associated with achievement. What the authors call the ABC's of engagement they outline as: Affective engagement, Behavioral engagement, and Cognitive engagement. They also present "Three Things Every Teacher Needs to Know about…

Empowering teachers to use data effectively as part of a process of instructional improvement calls for schools and districts to engage in systematic collection and analysis of evidence as part of an ongoing school improvement cycle. In research and practice, the author has identified four steps school leaders--supported by central office--must…

When teachers are overly focused on the teaching of grammar instead of the teaching of writing, students' quality of work suffers. Teachers should provide examples of writer's craft and author's voice to help students learn how to write their own stories.

Tyler identifies major hangups in the behavioral objectives movement. For example, he states that an educational objective does not need to be specific in order to be clear, attainable, and capable of assessment.'' (Author)

The author began his education career committed to curriculum, not measurement. After years of using teacher-made and standardized tests as instructional afterthoughts, he recognized the superiority of criterion-referenced testing and the influence of high-stakes testing on instruction. He then became involved with developing such tests on a…

A brief description of instructional objectives and the Instructional Objectives Exchange. (RA)

The author, who has been involved in one of New York State's mandated competency-based teacher education (CBTE) programs, comments on and criticizes three articles about CBTE. (JF)

An overview of an educational program designed to meet the individual needs of students. (RA)

This evaluation finds that teachers prepared in the University of Nebraska's 3-year-old performance-based teacher education program, teach more effectively and like the preparatory program better than do traditionally prepared teachers. (Author/JH)

Describes the Staff Performance Improvement and Appraisal Program at Newport-Mesa, California (Author)