Summer school makes an unlikely candidate for a bright spot in education reform during these difficult economic times. It occupies a long-held negative place in U.S. culture, prompting dread in the hearts of many former and current students. Summer school conjures up images of sitting in hot classrooms and receiving remedial instruction while…

Black, Wilson, and Yao have identified a very real tension felt by teachers today that has been created by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in the United States and the National Curriculum Assessment in the United Kingdom. In many schools, formative assessment has either taken a backseat to summative assessment use, or many of the formative assessment…

As a result of the Reading First Program of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the view of reading has narrowed. Individual state's Reading First professional development programs, and hence reading teachers across the United States, have spent the six years since the funding of the program in 2002 focusing beginning and developmental reading on…

This paper presents Stan Jones' testimony before the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training. In his testimony, he talks about a new American majority of students that is emerging on campuses, especially at community colleges. These students must delicately balance long hours at jobs they must…

Schooling in the U.S. is increasingly understood through the lenses of science and accountability. From the National Research Council's Scientific Research in Education (SRE) to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), colleges and schools have faced a marked increase (or steady reinforcement) in practices which conform to principles of scientific…

This commentary invites Americans to confront what these authors view as the travesty that typically passes for literacy instruction for older youth in the United States who struggle with reading. In too many U.S. schools, these young people face an impoverished curriculum, receiving literacy instruction that is ill suited to their needs, or…

It is critical that teachers and administrators seek out and serve the invisible children in their classrooms and schools. When they acknowledge the condition of homeless and foster children, they can begin to address their unique learning needs and close their learning gaps. Based on definitions provided by the McKinney-Vento Act, some schools…

Reviews federal legislative achievements in education and considers possible future changes and their meanings. Elements discussed are the composition of the student body and teaching faculty, use of campus facilities, financing higher education, academic programs and their quality, and the government's role. (Author/JD)

Like the other industries the United States once dominated, higher education is facing increasing global competition. Any strengthening of K-12 education will strengthen higher education in turn. In this article, the author opines that higher education advocates should also urge Congress to include school libraries and librarians in NCLB when they…

Unlike other special education categories defined in U.S. law (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), the definition of specific learning disability (SLD) has not changed since first proposed in 1968. Thus, although the operational definition of SLD has responded to new knowledge and understanding about the construct, the formal definition…

A discussion of the movement to make English the official language of the United States, by constitutional amendment, looks for a hidden agenda among its advocates. The history of and debate over the amendment in Congress and around the country are reviewed, drawing from legislative texts, speeches, essays, media commentary, and related research.…

Growing concern about the quality of public education in the United States has driven numerous educational reform efforts across the last three decades. These reforms include increased accountability as exemplified by various requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the introduction of new curriculum and instructional methods in…

Two years of work by the 95th Congress (1977-78) are examined with regard to programs and issues which have implications for lifelong learning as a national policy. (Lifelong learning is defined as that policy or combination of policies which contribute to and/or encourage learning by persons throughout their lives in a variety of formal and…

This article explores the use of ironic performance in education, particularly around issues of human rights. I examine my own efforts to engage audiences with the history of domestic espionage and sabotage by the intelligence agencies of the United States. This is a history well known to some marginalized counterpublics (see Fraser, 1997), but…

Reviews the content and intent of the Lifelong Learning Act and criticizes the use of "lifelong learning" as a synonym for "adult and continuing education," contending that lifelong learning should begin in the earliest years. Includes opinions of eight other educators on the act's provisions and impact. (MF)