Past payment by results schemes have failed miserably. Britain's modified 150-year-old system was disdained by teachers, school managers, and inspectors; schools became learning-impoverished environments with test-driven curricula. In modern-day America, accountability concerns and mistrust are corrupting or crippling genuine improvement efforts.…

Our emphasis on accountability overlooks children's differences. Half of all individuals who take a norm-referenced test will be below average. Should such students be pushed, mauled, and remediated or squeezed into a common learning mold? Holding teachers accountable for humane treatment of "whole children" is a worthier pursuit. (MLH)

Suggests ways researchers can use international comparisons to improve student learning, using math performance of U.S. and Chinese sixth-graders on four types of tasks. Chinese students did better on computation; U.S. students excelled at process (open performance) assessment tasks. U.S. kids need to develop symbolic and algebraic thinking. (MLH)

Since 1996, 125 Ohio principals have attended the Summit (Ohio) Principal Academy. Participants agree on the urgent need for change, work on personal beliefs and missions, focus on student work tasks, learn inter- and intra-district collaboration, and empower teachers to make decisions. Leadership academies supplement this process. (MLH)

A high-school Spanish teacher recalls her first hectic year. She would have quit, without assistance with everyday classroom realities from an official mentor (a vice principal), a biology teacher, and a second-grade teacher (her mother). These mentors eventually became her best friends. (MLH)

Large high schools offer more specialized curricula, but are problematic. Experts think smaller schools raise minority/low-income student achievement, reduce violent and disruptive incidents, combat anonymity, increase attendance and graduation rates, and operate most cost-effectively. Recent studies corroborate these findings and small classes'…

The 11th Circuit Court upheld a Georgia district's termination of an exemplary teacher who refused an immediate drug test after a police dog sniffed out a marijuana cigarette in her unlocked car. This case illustrates application of zero-tolerance policies to teachers and other personnel despite employees' signed contracts. (MLH)

For National Board certification to change teaching as a career, reformers must attend to accountability, monitoring, and quality-control concerns and demonstrate clearly how a staged career would attract and retain excellent teachers, revitalize pedagogy, strengthen instructional programs, and create more responsive schools. (Contains 44…

Although second- and third-year evaluations of California's K-3 class-size reduction program show modest achievement gains, these improvements have had large costs. Interdistrict inequities have been exacerbated as the teacher work force increased 38 percent, qualifications dropped, and implementation costs soared. Recommendations are discussed.…

Shunning debate on alternative educational philosophies and knowledge organization, "Standardistos" are only interested in "freezing" what today's "well-educated" people know, distributing it to schools, and demanding that it be taught and learned. They overlook breadth versus depth issues, developmental and sequential appropriateness, and…

Young people's growing commitment to contribute voluntarily to larger issues through service is well documented. National service is not a single federal program, but a national purpose beginning with service learning in school and linked with community-based youth development organizations and higher education. Resources are listed. (Contaians 27…

Discusses the prevalence of service learning, growing public support, definitions, quality standards, and salutary research evidence. Service learning positively influences students' personal and interpersonal development, lifestyle choices, appreciation for cultural diversity, sense of civic and social responsibility, motivation, attendance,…

Philadelphia schools were the first to engage all 200,000 K-12 students in meaningful service-learning activities aligned with district academic standards and learning goals. This has meant providing professional development for 6,000 teachers, forging partnerships with 2,500 community experts and agencies, and developing an efficient evaluation…

Explains how South Carolina has linked service learning to teacher education, strategic planning in schools, and educational accountability. Planners should establish a policy council, align service-learning initiatives with policy goals and programs, state academic standards, and teacher education programs; and create a network of trained…

In reaffirming "The Declaration of Principles" from a 1995 meeting, the Corporation for National Service and the U.S. Department of Education have pledged their commitment to service as a means of improving schools, enhancing student achievement, and meeting citizenship challenges. Programs exemplifying six service-learning principles are…