This publication discusses education reform and the movement toward standards and assessments and its impact on students with disabilities. It is designed to provide parents with information about changes in assessment and graduation criteria, and assist parents in investigating the changes happening in their districts and states. Different…

This analysis of a survey of state directors of special education concerning special education outcomes highlights the following findings: (1) more students with disabilities are participating in statewide testing and states are better at documenting actual numbers participating; (2) high stakes attached to school or district performance and lack…

This review of state higher education assessment policies sought to test assumptions and conclusions reached during an initial phase of the study, to explore the dynamics of the process by which assessment becomes a state-level issue or concern, and to better understand the multifaceted relationship between state assessment policy and the…

This document provides guidelines for administrators related to instructional technology and planning. Chapter 1 discusses planning, including developing a technology plan, facility assessment, e-rate planning, formation of a technology committee, budget planning, and hardware/software replacement plan and costs. Chapter 2 addresses…

This report is based on inspections of science in primary and secondary schools carried out between September 2000 and March 2004. In addition to schools inspected as part of the generational cycle, HMI also visited other primary and secondary schools to observe and describe aspects of best practice. The report also draws on other major sources of…

Using field data from South Maragoli (Western Kenya), explains households' high outlay on school fees and the sustained popular demand for educational expansion in the context of the erosion of subsistence production and consumption in favor of consumption purchased from income from wage labor. (Author/LC)

Critical and revisionist historians of American education have generated a model of education in a capitalist society that has a functionalist orientation. However, this model does not properly acknowledge the importance of society's contradictions, disjunctions, and incoherence in social and educational change. (FG)

This study, conducted by the staff of Minnesota Research and Evaluation Project (MREP), reports the results of several needs assessment procedures used with teachers and principals from a random sample of 224 schools from 13 western and midwestern states. (HM)

Summarizes results from several surveys of students, parents, graduates, teachers, employers, and the public in six states on the quality of vocational education programs, public image, responsiveness of vocational education to student and business community needs, and the extent of articulation between persons and institutions. (MF)

Describes the communist Chinese national curriculum in social studies, a broad term that includes moral and political education, as well as traditional subjects. Includes a sample moral and political education lesson, " Socialism is Good," and lists of several textbook contents and curriculum guides. Provides a brief educational history.…

Outlines the four essential components of education: outcomes, curriculum/program, assessment, and reporting. Emphasizes how these must align with one another. Describes advantages of teacher-librarians coordinating a schoolwide initiative for students' media productions. Identifies the five traits of media work: ideas and content, organization,…

Discusses a number of ethical dilemmas encountered during different stages of qualitative research. Outlines problems specific to entering the field, being in the field, leaving the field, writing, and dissemination. Recounts an incident from ethnographic research that illustrates problems concerning conflicting roles and maintaining objectivity.…

Examines fundamental conceptions regarding the role and nature of evaluating and researching music education programs. Questions the common idea that evaluative criteria for programs should focus primarily on the students' level of musical skill. Argues that consideration should be given to personal growth and other issues. (MJP)

Describes the development and implementation of an educational administrative program in the Cheliabinsk Oblast region of post-Soviet Russia. The system attempted to assign appropriate responsibilities at the local level while maintaining a unified national system of education. Briefly discusses other problems concerning educational support and…

Provides criteria to apply when considering the development or purchase of programs or instructional materials for character education. Establishes the importance of including character education in professional development, both at the inservice and preservice levels. Includes a list of six teaching principles for effective character educators.…