Presidential commissions, parents, academics, and employers have proposed the same solutions, again and again, for fixing the time students spend in school: (1) Add more days to the annual school calendar; (2) Change to year-round schools; (3) Add instructional time to the daily schedule; and (4) Extend the school day. Three reasons--cost,…

Reports on results of 2-year study of educational use of technology at 2 San Francisco Bay Area high schools. Finds little impact on students' school experience. Discusses several reasons for this finding: Traditional school structures, time constraints, and competing educational priorities. (Contains 10 references.) (PKP)

Senate Bill 813, the broadest and most expensive school reform bill in California's history, is anchored in a set of seriously flawed assumptions about teaching, schooling, and the role of the state in generating change. (Author/DCS)

In addition to serving as managers and teachers, superintendents must exercise considerable political skill to meet the varying demands placed on school administrations by school boards responding to changing public pressures. Managing the conflict growing out of these multiple roles is the sign of an excellent superintendent. (PGD)

Praises David Kearns' education recovery plan for acknowledging the plight of ill-served low income children, assigning an appropriate federal role, and attempting to spark debate among presidential candidates. Anticipates criticisms (blaming schools for putting the nation at economic risk, puzzling contradictions concerning school choice and…

Effective schools research problems (unreliable descriptions and definitions, over-dependency on tests, research limited primarily to elementary schools) result in narrow formulas leading to increased standardization, neglect of nonacademic areas, and failure to improve in schools with high test scores. Author urges using broader, more complex…

Predicts that reformers will not attack sex education as an inappropriate addition to otherwise rigorous academic programs. Examines (1) some of the political, social, and practical reasons behind this avoidance and (2) the ineffectiveness of existing programs in preventing teenage pregnancies. Suggests that sex education programs may even hinder…

Recent state reforms that embrace the effective schools movement may actually be counterproductive. These mandates encourage the persistence of outmoded, teacher centered, pedagogical practices and current school organizational structures, inhibiting the development of students' independent reasoning and problem-solving skills, as well as the…

For almost two centuries, poor children have been seen as a threat to society because neither parents nor existing community institutions could control their unacceptable behavior. Compulsory education for so-called at-risk children has produced another problem: poor academic performance. This article argues for eliminating graded schools and…

Discusses the levels of educational reform that have taken place during the past century and proposes a reframing of the fundamental questions about school reform and how it works. Includes 4 references. (Author/MD)

The overall picture of high school teaching since 1900 is striking in its uniformity. In this summary of his research findings, the author suggests measures for teacher improvement that might be taken in schools of education and in district inservice training. (Author/MLF)

Traditional white" approaches to ethnic content lock students into a passive role. Here is a formula for giving ethnic content an emotional voltage that will last as long as this society tolerates injustice." (Author)

Curricular reform has had pitiful results. There are actually four curricula. Concentrating on the official and tested curricula, while ignoring the taught and learned curricula, diverts attention from more pressing policy issues such as inequitable funding allocations and persistent achievement gaps between richer and poorer students. The only…

To blame the decline in national competitiveness solely on poorly educated, less productive workers is misguided. Despite the growing intensity of corporate criticisms of public education, there is no consensus among economists that schools have caused the productivity crisis. Schools are not critical to economic competitiveness in a global…