Teacher preparation and licensing are constantly under attack from both national and state policy makers. The extraordinary reporting requirements imposed on university-based teacher preparation programs through Title II of the Higher Education Act and the promotion of "alternative routes" to teacher licensure by the federal government…

The federal journey into public education has followed a long and winding road. Most educators know that the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act is simply the latest version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which dates all the way back to 1965. In the years since its initial passage, the ESEA road has taken a number of…

Discusses some of the challenges presented by standards-based reform, problems in designing accountability policies that serve learning, creation of fair and equitable accountability systems, standards-based initiatives that serve teaching and learning, and support for teachers and high-quality teaching. (Contains 22 references.) (PKP)

The HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills) program was started 25 years ago in the belief that educationally disadvantaged students (Title I and learning disabled) were bright and that the top priority for supplemental aid for these students should be to help them channel that innate intelligence into learning at a higher level. The students were…

After almost three decades of school reform, student achievement nationally is about where it was when it started, and student behavior has declined dramatically. Numbers of dropouts, especially in cities and among the poor and minorities, have gotten much higher. Yet many billions of dollars have been spent; countless professionals have carried…

Argues for more responsible education accountability system. Builds on earlier work and presents alternative concepts that are more responsive to the purposes and functions of public schooling in a democratic society. Proposes ideas about good teaching and learning and the educational needs of students and their families, particularly in…

Policy makers really sounded off this spring about public education. State legislators derided No Child Left Behind (NCLB) for taking away state prerogatives in setting education policy and the National Governors Association essentially tell federal officials to stay away from repeating NCLB at the high school level. President Bush tried to move…