Call for reforming mathematics teaching has been sounded loudly and strongly. Change from teaching standard algorithms to having children invent their own methods requires major pedagogical shift. Teachers must trust students' inventiveness and ability to make sense of numerical situations, be committed to thinking and reasoning as cornerstone of…

Our highly technological society requires that all students be empowered to use mathematics to defend their rights and see behind political control agendas. Situations (such as computer-modeling decisions) are often "mathematicized" to stifle those unable to construct their own mathematically based arguments. African-American students need more…

American charter schools feature a dual reform strategy that combines state-initiated reform with local flexibility. In Britain, as in the U.S., charter school reform has been accompanied by centralized curriculum and student-assessment policies and decentralized implementation strategizing. Policymakers and practitioners must collaborate to…

Although schoolchildren daily move veritable mountains of textbooks, these heavy tomes may not be worth the effort. The modern text is particularly damaging to TV-inundated students who know little of the rewards and pleasures of reading. Soft-cover books printed in black and white and authored by professional writers would be more cost effective…

Two key assumptions of conventional test design--the compartmentalization of knowledge and the decontextualization of knowing--are false. Because competent performance requires both context and judgment, it is senseless to test for mastery as an unvarying response to unambiguous stimuli. Test-makers must link their tests to the tasks, contexts,…

NAEP and SAT scores show U.S. schools are not necessarily declining, but they are struggling. Math and social studies instruction is still dominated by teacher explanations, quizzes, and textbooks; students remain unexcited by science; literacy levels are low; school children do much more TV-watching than homework or reading. A major structural…

Academic objectives are important, but more attention must be given youngsters' social, physical, emotional, and moral development. Schools are struggling to teach children whose home life is anxiety-ridden and learning-unfriendly. Because taxpayers resist generosity to poor families alone, we must design social programs to help all families and…

Since 1988, National Center for School Leadership at University of Illinois has systematically explored what school leaders can do to enhance classroom teaching and student learning. Articles in this section focus on NCSL findings and illuminate connections between leadership and reform. Researchers assumed leadership is multidimensional, student…

School reform demands rethinking of schooling goals, culture, and leadership. Research evidence shows that "task" goals (stressing learning for its own sake) are preferable to "ability" goals (stressing learning as means to an end). School policies and practices must be redefined according to the learning task, degree of student autonomy,…

Current research points to five essential categories defining principals' responsibilities: defining and communicating a mission, managing curriculum and instruction, supervising teaching, monitoring student progress, and promoting an effective instructional climate. The Illinois Administrators' Academy offers a statewide leadership development…

One criticism of school-based management is that teachers are being asked to make disjointed decisions rather than decisions tied together by a common vision of change. This article discusses SBM's influences in changing school culture and presents a model embodying teacher-leader cooperation to change school policies and practices and adopt a…

The breakdown of traditional families and increasing numbers of at-risk children have greatly increased need for building collaborative networks to reduce disabling risk factors. Building children's resilience involves reducing overall vulnerability, reducing impact of emotional stressors, increasing resources available to provide for interagency…

Data from four case studies of schools committed to educational reform point to four attributes characterizing school leaders who are effective change agents. Such leaders are child-centered, collaborate with multiple constituencies, process a wide variety of information, and are expert communicators. Suggestions on transforming present-day…

To increase multicultural awareness, Portland (Oregon) Public Schools have commissioned "Baseline Essays," series of texts describing a specific geocultural group's history, culture, and contributions. "Baseline Essay on Science" claims that basic ideas in modern science were anticipated and formulated by the ancient Egyptians (black Africans).…

Understanding of adolescent child-bearing and efforts to ameliorate attendant problems are diminished by unexamined, emotionally charged beliefs regarding race, poverty, gender. Adolescent birth rates that declined from 1970s to 1980s were sharper for African Americans. However, sexually active adolescents in comparison countries have fewer…