Many of the recent appeals for educational improvement place great reliance on standardized tests as instruments of reform. The appropriateness and interpretation of these tests remain unresolved issues. Concepts of cognitive psychology should be integrated into the development of intelligence and achievement tests. (Author/VM)

Explains a program designed to get students involved in encouraging local pet owners to license their animals. Discusses the possibilities this program offers in teaching citizenship. Includes five teaching activities intended for use in elementary language arts and social studies lessons. (TW)

Explains a teaching activity designed to help students develop an appreciation of the role of animal control officers in the community and the importance of licensing their pets. Includes playing instructions, reproducible game cards and a game board, and a supportive statement from the director of a state humane society. (TW)

Responses of certification officers of state departments of education (N=50) regarding policies for teachers of blind or visually-impaired students indicated that 45 states offered vision-specific certification and that policies varied greatly among states. (Author/CB)

Officials at colleges of veterinary medicine feel their field is overdue for major changes in areas including teaching strategies, breadth of curriculum, keeping pace with growing agricultural and medical knowledge, faculty emphasis on research, livestock industry needs, and computer applications. (MSE)

This paper addresses policy issues raised by recent recommendations to improve the quality of teacher education by moving to fifth-year certification. It describes career patterns of beginning teachers with different undergraduate preparation paths, and analyzes the effects of new teachers' background characteristics, educational investments, and…

Forty-nine state superintendents of public instruction responded to the sixth biannual assessment of U.S. gifted/talented education programs. The questionnaire addressed the following topics: certification requirements for teachers, state funding, impact of tax limitation measures, state guidelines for gifted/talented programs, student selection…

State reforms of teacher education formally adopted since 1986 are reported, including statewide initiatives by legislatures, higher education governing and coordinating boards, boards of education, and teacher certification boards. (MSE)

Describes the political processes involved in obtaining mandatory preservice teacher training in environmental education for Wisconsin's science and social studies teachers. Outlines the procedures employed by support and state committees in proposal development, review, and implementation. Lists the preservice requirements and teacher…

Israeli "external" high schools prepare students for external matriculation examination, providing them with a second chance to retain the matriculation certificate necessary for higher education. A study of the degree to which these schools fulfill second chance hopes is described, focusing on the problem of goal definition in…

The Carnegie Forum's report prepares to turn over the public education system to the teachers and hence their unions. The best way to reform public education is a competitive system of private schools with tax credits or a voucher plan that would break up the education monopoly. (MLF)

Testing of teacher competence is traced from colonial times to the present. Various forms of teacher testing were commonplace up through the nineteenth century. A major educational reform movement in the early twentieth century succeeded in eliminating teacher tests in favor of proper and uniform preparation through teacher education. (BS)

The elimination of undergraduate teacher education programs at many institutions is discussed. However, leaders of colleges that offer undergraduate majors in education have reacted with disapproval to recent proposals that such programs be abolished in favor of graduate preparation of teachers. (MLW)

Reports the results of a 1982 survey of 284 United Kingdom geography students in seeking postgraduate teaching certification. Results indicated that many students' undergraduate courses had failed to include topics required for competency in geography instruction. Implications for college geography courses and teacher training are discussed.…

Presents the Science Education Council of Ohio's official position on science education goals, underlying principles of quality programs, and strategies for improvement. The Council urges a strong state effort and a state-wide task force. Long-range planning for excellence, teacher preparation/certification, science curriculum development, and…