A comprehensive high school in Bellevue, Washington, embraces problem-based learning as its strategy for improvement. Supported by a federal i3 grant, the school spent five years preparing for a widespread launch of PBL at the school. After several years of implementation, researchers learned that students perform the same or better on…

People dislike the Common Core for several different reasons, and so it is important to disaggregate the sources of opposition and to assess and then to dispel some of the myths that have built up around it. It also is important to understand the unusual political alliances that have emerged in opposition to Common Core implementation and how they…

Describes experiences of two elementary math teachers, whose dynamic, hands-on teaching techniques were at odds with components of the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS). Despite these teachers' successful efforts, the new Commonwealth Accountability and Testing System (CATS) replacing KIRIS will not contain portfolios. (12…

The compelling ideas underlying the standards movement are being distorted by poor implementation and political opportunism. Higher standards will probably not affect the nation's already booming economy or close the white/minority achievement gap. An emerging rebellion, driven by negative testing consequences, is eroding political support.…

Responding to a critique of their earlier article, authors Levin and Meister, joined by Glass, attempt to clarify some of the issues and to correct implicit misunderstandings in the critique, while detailing the application of cost-effectiveness to educational interventions. Twenty footnotes are appended. (IW)

Pitfalls presented in this guide to introducing microcomputers into school curricula include treating the change as magic, rushing to gain publicity, and changing by administrative fiat. Steps outlined to avoid such pitfalls include developing board policy and administrative procedures, acting on committee recommendations, and establishing a…

Policymakers are placing tremendous faith in assessment, a technology with many limitations. Assessment-driven improvement policy uses mandatory testing to leverage desired change, but it narrows the curriculum, punishes teachers for things beyond their control, expands bureaucracy, and does not work. Alternative strategies for school leaders are…

Short-term fixes may boost test scores without improving learning. Schools focused on higher standards and instructional reform should reorganize and condense state, district, and national standards; adopt a "less is more" approach; support collaborative improvement efforts; and link assessment to a high-quality learning environment.…

Deinstitutionalizing the mentally ill failed because proper implementation required large-scale societal changes. Dumping disabled kids into regular education without appropriate supports could mirror that fiasco. Inclusion can help create a sense of community through promoting acceptance and respect among classmates. The Social Awareness-Social…

If education is to halt the ever-swinging pendulum and make significant progress in student achievement, it must first change the ground rules for selecting, implementing, evaluating, and institutionalizing innovations like Hunter's model. This article proposes steps for providing an infrastructure capable of promoting lasting and beneficial…

Service learning holds tremendous potential for expanding and enriching children's education. However, community polarization can result when such programs are implemented in schools that are not freely chosen by families of children attending them. Parents must be allowed to choose schools reflecting their priorities and beliefs. (MLH)

The Middle School Initiative, an ambitious plan to convert all New York City junior high schools to middle schools, faced numerous obstacles: loss of leadership support, teacher cynicism and resistance, blindness to difficulties, union regulations, pressures for quick results, administrator retirement incentives, and collaboration problems. (MLH)

Although successful dropout assistance programs depend on effective implementation, casework, and long-term followup activities, the literature only occasionally addresses these practices. This article reviews data collection problems, major risk factors, reforms aimed at actual and potential dropouts, and alternative school programs. Second…

Criticizes the Holmes Group Report for the incompleteness of its recommendations in the following areas: (1) redesigning the undergraduate liberal arts curriculum, (2) eliminating undergraduate field experience, and (3) endorsing the concept of a differentiated staff composed of instructors, professional teachers, and career professionals.…

Criticizes, for programmatic and political reasons, two main recommendations of the Holmes Group report: (1) to transfer professional studies from the undergraduate level to the graduate level and (2) to deny undergraduate students the opportunity to major in education. Gives reasons why the Holmes proposals would not work in Indiana. (IW)