Some want schools reformed to produce high-performing future leaders. Others desire schools that teach students how to live, share, and serve others. Competition and high performance need not substitute for happiness, love, and service-values that counter America's culture of hyper-individualism, isolationism, and declining social/political…

Data from a 1994 longitudinal survey showed that parents' availability for school participation varied widely, depending on income and vacation benefits. At Princeton University, Alan Kruger and Diane Whitman concluded that smaller classes have greater effects on minority students' progress and college entrance-exam enrollment than on whites. (MLH)

In a case involving four high school seniors' suspension following a class-trip drinking incident, a federal court upheld the school district's action and imposed sanctions on the plaintiffs' attorney for trivializing equal-rights and due-process protections. Today's courts have little tolerance for student misconduct involving drugs or alcohol.…

Several years after the first audiovisual Macintosh computer appeared, most educators are still oblivious of this technology. Almost every other economic sector (including the porn industry) makes abundant use of digital and streaming video. Desktop movie production is so easy that primary grade students can do it. Tips are provided. (MLH)

Reviews Internet sites that provide helpful suggestions to potential web page designers. (PKP)

Reviews research by June Gordon, appearing in the June issue of "Teachers College Record," that explored why Asian Americans were underrepresented in the teaching profession. Major reasons that Asian Americans avoided the teaching profession were parent pressure, lack of self-confidence, fear of working in an unfamiliar environment, and…

Authors take issue with an article by Elaine Garan, "Beyond the Smoke and Mirrors: A Critique of the National Reading Panel Report on Phonics," that appeared in the March 2001 issue of "Phi Delta Kappan" wherein she criticized the report's findings on the effectiveness of phonics instruction in helping children to read. (PKP)

Author makes a point-by-point rebuttal to Ehri and Stahl's criticism of her critical analysis of the National Reading Panel report on the effectiveness of phonics instruction in helping children to read. (PKP)

Argues that reliance on the outcome of quantitative standardized tests to assess student performance is misplaced quest for certainty in an uncertain world. Reviews and lauds Canadian teacher-devised qualitative diagnostic tool, "Profiles of Student Behaviors," composed of 20 behavioral patterns in student knowledge, attitude, and skill. (PKP)

Presents results of the 33rd Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll on the public's attitudes toward the public schools. Includes a summary of key findings and tables showing percentage distributions of responses to each question. (PKP)

Uses statistical graphs and charts of 33rd annual poll results to support conclusions on implications for educational policy. (PKP)

Uses data from a multistate, multidistrict study of education reform conducted by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) at the University of Pennsylvania to examine the roles of federal, state, and local governments in standards-based reform and how intergovernmental relationships have influenced education-reform policies and…

Authors discuss seven findings from a number of studies of local, state, and federal performance-based accountability systems conducted by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at Harvard University. (PKP)

Professors at the University of Michigan report on the results of an extensive longitudinal study of the relationship between interventions and instructional improvement and offer suggestions to improve teaching and learning through the use of better designed interventions. (PKP)

Findings of study by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education on the roles played by central-office staff members in shaping and supporting instructional reforms in three large urban school districts. (Authors/PKP)