This paper discusses finding a balance for the use of tracking in school that benefits both high and low achieving students. Tracking can arguably be traced to the pervasive mythology of biological determinism and the advent of IQ testing. As time passed, schools increased the use of testing to separate students into different ability levels, but…

In summer 1997, the National Employer Survey (NES-II) was administered as a telephone survey to 6,971 private employers with more than 20 employees. The response rate was 78%. Two versions of the survey--one for manufacturing establishments and one for nonmanufacturing industries--were used. According to the NES-II, roughly 25% of establishments…

Tech prep is a new initiative that shows great promise for educational reform. However, "tech prep" is not the new name for vocational education. Tech prep is a new program of articulated education involving 2 years of high school and 2 years of postsecondary preparation that includes a common core of mathematics, science,…

The Mentor Teacher Program in the state of California is designed to retain capable teachers by expanding their rewards and opportunities. This report focuses on the character and quality of mentoring in an alternate route program sponsored by a large urban school district. A 30-hour required training course for mentors introduces them to their…

One of nine competency-based training modules for personnel preparation in early childhood special education, this guide focuses on the facilitation of transition services for young children. All modules are adaptable for use with a general audience, direct service personnel, or administrators and are based on the following principles:…

Issues surrounding educational assessment in Australia's Northern Territory are discussed. It is possible that the real issue is not an actual decline in educational standards, but instead, a decrease in public confidence in educational practice. Global patterns in educational testing and the assessment systems of the United States, the British…

This packet contains a research synthesis and six research-based articles on effective schooling practices, educational time factors, expectations and student outcomes, teaching questioning skills, improving student attitude and behavior, teaching and assessing writing skills, and staff development to improve student writing. The first five of the…

This report provides a synthesis of information currently available on the development of educational outcomes and a system of indicators for students with disabilities. An overview summarizes activities of the National Center on Educational Outcomes in the areas of model development, survey of state practice, information exchange, solutions to…

This bilingual (English and French) report examines the debate surrounding a Task Force analysis of higher education institutions in Canada. The Task Force reported on a variety of topics regarding Canada's colleges and universities from teaching and learning through curricular design to student retention and institutional performance. In…

This conference presentation describes the characteristics of a living educational theory, explores its implications for self-study methodology, and offers a self-study from an educative relationship with a teacher educator. The theory has its basis in the following ideas: educators exist as living contradictions when their values are negated in…

This series of papers by prominent economists who have specialized in educational issues brings an economic perspective to some of the major questions being asked about education today. Three papers address elementary and secondary education with an emphasis on educational equity. One examines the educational opportunities of at-risk children and…

A study examined current developments in workplace adult basic skills training (BST) programs for adults in northwestern England. Case studies of three area companies offering workplace BST programs were conducted along with a telephone survey of 56 local employers (of 200 originally contacted) to gauge their awareness of and attitudes toward…

This study investigated the extent to which preservice teachers could differentiate developmentally appropriate from inappropriate practices in the education of young children. Responses to 2 teaching scenarios were collected from 158 junior and/or senior early childhood teacher education majors from a university in the mid-South. Results…

The five essays in this book criticize the "deadening heart" of compulsory state schooling, described as a series of assumptions and structures that stamp out the self-knowledge, curiosity, concentration and solitude essential to learning--a system wherein education and schooling are mutually exclusive terms. The book argues that between schooling…

This digest provides a process for assuring that the unique needs of students who are gifted are addressed within the context of systemic educational reform. Several key elements guide the process: creating belief statements, clarifying the issues, and designing strategies for implementation. Generating belief statements based on what is believed…