Summarizes selected findings of a major national research project on mentoring and teacher education in England and Wales. Considers mentoring's nature and purpose and examines mentor/new headteacher matches. Discusses mentoring's benefits, limitations, and conceptual models. Mentoring provides invaluable support for new principals but lacks rigor…

Describes the Headteachers Leadership and Management Programme (Headlamp), a new British national scheme aiming to improve school-management quality. Discusses issues such as entitlement, expectations, competencies, other team players (mentors, local education authorities, and governing bodies), and funding resources. Headlamp needs an integrated…

Reflects on the practice of mentoring from a consultant/trainer/principal's perspective. The strengths of mentoring programs far outweigh existing limitations. Interested districts and schools must consider issues such as planning, training, and appropriate matching of mentors and proteges, if mentoring programs are to succeed. (MLH)

Counters seven myths about multiple intelligences that have arisen since the author's 1993 book "Frames of Mind" was published with seven complementary "realities." Demonstrates some problematic applications of MI theory in schools and praises three positive applications, including cultivation of desired capabilities, varied approaches to subject…

Examines tracking's effects on end-of-year 10th-grade mathematics achievement for a sample of over 3,900 public school students, using 1988 National Education Longitudinal Study data. Although there is clearly a case for detracking on equity grounds, students currently in uppertrack classes may suffer major losses in achievement test scores. (26…

Although Brewer, Rees, and Argys's detracking article raises important educational and policy questions, it overlooks the issue of differentiated curricula--a primary reason for grouping students by aptitude. Educators must decide whether students, regardless of past performance, current aptitude, or vocational interests, should receive identical…

Brewer, Rees, and Argys's detracking article raises questions concerning the authors' interpretations, reported findings, and implications for policy. The effects of ability grouping are small and are substantially surpassed by the effects of many teacher-related instructional innovations. Classroom organization substantially affects student…

High-track/low-track studies almost invariably conclude that students gain from being in high-ability groups and lose from being in low-ability groups. Track/no-track studies find achievement effects approaching zero for high, average, and low achievers. Brewer, Rees, and Argys's own data provide little evidence for maintaining ability grouping.…

Untracking schools seek to reduce student isolation, expand student access to valued knowledge, and extend high expectations to all students. Innovative strategies and support programs, such as Parents and Counselors Together (PACT) and Achieving Via Individual Determination (AVID), can help close the gap between student aspirations and school…

School leaders must make good decisions about sex education based on valid information. This article presents 17 arguments most frequently advanced by groups opposing comprehensive sexuality education and examines the scientific literature to determine those arguments' validity. Topics include abstinence instruction, intimate sexual behavior…

Since 1987, Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke has made education his top priority. He strongly supports serious, autonomous schools, insists on accountability, and has impeccable education credentials. Recognizing a crisis in public education, Schmoke moved to save the system from further deterioration and opened it to responsible reform via…

Assessment literates know how to meet specific standards of quality. Sound assessments arise from and serve clear purposes, reflect clear and appropriate achievement targets, rely on proper methods, sample student achievement appropriately, and control for sources of bias and distortion. Barriers include fear of assessment, insufficient time, and…

School administrators must go beyond assessment literacy to assessment leadership. Besides understanding, coordinating, and imparting a vision for assessment activities, administrators might also initiate development of improved mechanisms to report student performance. Each district needs an assessment advisory committee representing various…

Educators must abandon the notion that intellectual excellence is somehow undemocratic and runs counter to practicality, emotion, and character development. Respecting intellectual differences does not require classifying students in stultifying categories or demeaning them with inappropriate judgments. Educational progress varies from child to…

A law professor who taught a class based on "Brown v. the Board of Education" at Berkeley High School recounts a Mexican American girl's efforts to convince Mattel to integrate their doll collection. She was convinced she had to be white to be listened to. Her disappointment and sense of powerlessness still haunt him. (MLH)