Summarizes school readiness and retention research issues, including youngest first graders' performance, entrance age policies, voluntary decisions to wait an extra year, assessment of children's readiness, and the negative effects of kindergarten and first-grade retention. Concludes that age disadvantages are seldom serious and usually disappear…

Responds to two articles in this "Educational Leadership" issue by Richard Salzer and by Lorrie A. Shepard and Mary Lee Smith that criticize overtesting and preoccupation with developmental differences in kindergarten-age children. Defends physical, sensory, and developmental assessment to help identify children's areas of strength and weakness.…

Supports articles in this "Educational Leadership" issue by Robert Salzer and by Lorrie A. Shepard and Mary Lee Smith concerning overtesting for developmental maturity and school readiness. Underlines differences between screening and readiness tests and sets out criteria for selection and usage--to determine appropriate services for young…

Describes Minnesota's Preschool Screening program, the first to offer free, voluntary health and developmental screening for state preschoolers, and a related Early Childhood Assessment project to deal with inconsistencies in diagnostic referral rates among school districts. Questions test validity, reliability, and standardization samples and…

Reports such as those by the "Holmes Group" and the Carnegie panel are evidence that the educational reform movement has reached within the education profession. Outlines 10 recommendations for reform. These include giving more autonomy to schools that perform satisfactorily and having a larger percentage of the funds for education go toward…

The education reform movement has been spurred by statistics showing United States student achievement test scores rank below those of 14 other developed countries. To raise student achievement, educators are referred to the educational research summarized in the report "What Works." Includes a listing of 41 recommendations from that report. (MD)

Discusses the need to include teachers in the development of educational reform. (MD)

Provides six questions that can be used for establishing criteria in evaluating education policy changes. The questions will help examine political and technological dimensions of school reform. (MD)

To assist in the evaluation of state legislation relating to educational reform a five-step procedure for analyzing state-level policy is provided. (MD)

The former Salt Lake City (Utah) superintendent, Donald Thomas, now the deputy superintendent in South Carolina, is interviewed about educational reform and the role of state and federal policymaking in the reform movement. (MD)

In discussing the need to restructure school programs and more completely integrate students with special learning needs into regular school programs, the problems of classification of students in special education and overlapping services and programs are presented. Includes a table featuring effective classroom environments and a reference list.…

Research studies on educational reform show that moving from reform to quality education through centrally designed reform movements (such as clearer legislation or other strategies) is inherently limited. Reform is most likely to succeed when schools are stimulated to change and provided with appropriate assistance and when schools receive enough…

Reports on an indepth probe of the Japanese educational system by American educators. This study shows that the United States cannot expect to achieve economic growth by copying the Japanese system, which has been shaped largely by its geography and culture and society. (MD)

Since the state of Florida enacted stricter academic standards for high schools, the dropout rate has increased and middle schools have suffered. Funds formerly intended for elementary and middle schools are being used to sustain high school reform programs. School reform at one level has serious implications for other levels. (MD)

In response to recent nostalgia about education's past, the author reviews the reality of educational history. In the 1950s schools were affected by disruption and violence. In the 1930s declining standards were cited. In the teens there was a 50 percent dropout rate. In the 1900s problems of student boredom and violence were documented. (MD)