Directed toward the continued refinement of English/Language Arts classroom programs in California schools, this guidebook of curriculum standards for grades 9-12 focuses on an integrated approach to reading in which students share a common classroom experience. The guide presents 10 major concepts essential for the English/Language Arts…

Developed by the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and written by classroom teachers, this document provides guidelines for a kindergarten through grade 12 English/language arts curriculum. Following a discussion on the philosophy and implementation of an English/language arts curriculum, the guide presents sections on…

Based on an institutional-contingency view, this study focuses on ways in which public and private school sectors in six San Francisco area counties embody different organizational logistics and authority principles, including rational-legal, traditional, and local-market. Results suggest that, among other characteristics, nonreligious private…

Third in a series, this loose-leaf guide reviews resources for evaluating, selecting, and using software for teaching reading and communication skills. Sources of educational software listed include both commercial publishers and public domain sources. Software selection information sources are divided into journals, newsletters, and special…

Factors contributing to the uniqueness of educational software are analyzed from contextual and textual perspectives. Contextual (or external) technological, economic, and social factors are examined briefly, and are identified as the dominant factors in the future evolution of educational software. Feedback and interactiveness, two significant…

A study examined the high school graduates' perceptions and employers' reports of hiring and job performance standards and employment outcomes one year after high school. Longitudinal data were collected from 522 students at the beginning and end of the senior school year and 325 of these students (62 percent) one year after graduation. Employers…

This handbook for librarians and adult basic education (ABE) teachers examines existing and potential library-literacy connections. Chapter I discusses methods and criteria for selecting and evaluating books for new readers. Both readability levels and the quality of books are considered. The second chapter examines the library's general…

Intended to provide the basis for a lifelong appreciation of literature, this curriculum guide outlines a sequence of instruction for elementary and secondary school students. Used in conjunction with the K-12 Reserved Literature List for the Lincoln, Nebraska public schools, the guide provides grids indicating the appropriate grade level for…

Mother Goose is well suited to use in the elementary ESL classroom for several reasons. The stories appeal to children's imagination, adhering to the principle that a good story should have surprise value, interesting characters, meaningful conflict, action, and realism. The natural rhythms help develop English intonation, and the stories…

Both challenges and successes resulted from the implementation of computer-based or computer-assisted instruction (CAI) at Mercy College of Detroit through a program funded with a Comprehensive Assistance to Undergraduate Science Education (CAUSE) grant. Four influences were found most significant in faculty-related challenges: computer phobia,…

Computer assisted learning (CAL) is an old technology which has generated much new interest. Computers can: reduce data to a directly comprehensible form; reduce administration; communicate worldwide and exchange, store, and retrieve data; and teach. The computer's limitation is in its dependence on the user's ability and perceptive nature.…

A multidisciplinary research team was assembled to review existing computer-aided drafting (CAD) systems for the purpose of enabling staff in the Design Drafting Department at Linn Technical College (Missouri) to select the best system out of the many CAD systems in existence. During the initial stage of the evaluation project, researchers…

A study was conducted to identify California community colleges with contract education programs; to identify and determine the characteristics of successful programs; and to make recommendations for program development. The study was conducted through a review of the literature, a survey of California community colleges to identify effective…

An overview of options available for Federal cooperation in the improvement of teacher education considers possible areas in which government support may be effective. These include: (1) recruitment of talented students; (2) financial support for prospective teachers; (3) improvement grants to schools of education; (4) grants supporting…

This paper presents findings from a study of teachers' and principals' testing practices. The research included a nation-wide survey, exploratory fieldwork in preparation for the survey, and a case study inquiry on testing costs. Teachers and principals share misgivings with some of the research community about the appropriateness of required…