What Ought to Be the Elements of Educational Reform?

A Nation At Risk
You can read the full text of this report that launched the current reform movement, at the U.S. Department of Education’s web site.

Hot Topics
The weekly online publication Education Week has created several "hot topic" summaries of topics that relate to this chapter of your textbook, including standards, accountability, school choice, vouchers, and year-round education. All include a brief summary of the issue, and links to related materials as well as to Education Week articles covering recent developments.

ASCD Tutorials
The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development has prepared several free online tutorials to acquaint you with topics discussed in this chapter of your textbook, including performance assessment, constructivism, and character education.

McREL Standards Database
This is a collection of content standards, or goals, gathered by the Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory. Browse by subject or look for suggestions for activities or unit designs.

National Standards
This site, part of the huge Education World web site, includes links to state departments of education, as well as listings of voluntary standards developed by major curriculum groups.

Reality Check
This annual survey, conducted by Public Agenda and Education Week, asks teachers and administrators about the progress of the standards movement.

Standards, Tests, and Accountability
The conservative Thomas B. Fordham Foundation offers this collection of reports and other writings on standards, tests and accountability.

Testing and Accountability
This "hot topic" summary from the National Education Association states that organization’s position on testing, standards, and accountability, and links you to NEA resources on the topic.

Making Standards Matter
This 2001 report from the American Federation of Teachers concludes that no states have aligned curriculum standards and testing properly to create an effective accountability program.

Alternative Assessment
This set of links collected by the Michigan eLibrary will help you find information about all kinds of authentic assessment options.

Alternate Assessment/Performance-Based Assessment
This is a set of links, prepared by ERIC, to sites that will give you more information on authentic or performance assessment.

Constructing Knowledge in the Classroom
This 1994 tutorial from the Classroom Compass, published by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory introduces several theories of constructivism and provides examples of their application to science and math.

Character Education Partnership
This organization has published a set of standards for character education and maintains a thorough resource page with links to articles and other character education web sites.

School Size
This collection of links from AskERIC will help you learn more about the latest trends toward smaller or larger schools.

National Service-Learning Clearinghouse (NSLC)
Link to several different organizations involved in service learning.

Six Levels of Teacher Authority in Moral Education
This 2002 article from the weekly online publication, Education Week, discusses six levels of democratic participation that teachers can allow when discussing moral and ethical issues with students.

National Voluntary Networks

Coalition of Essential Schools

Comer School Development Program

Success for All

Schools of Character

Current Reform Initiatives

State Standards
A web site with links to the content standards of each state, along with suggestions for lesson plans and resources to help teachers and students meet the standards of their state.

National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future
This organization, mentioned in your textbook, has published two reports, What Matters Most, and Doing What Matters Most, that offer a blueprint for reforming teacher education.

Teacher Salary Home Page
This page of the American Federation of Teachers web site offers access to their annual reports on salaries and trends.

CPRE Teacher Compensation Project
The Consortium for Policy Research in Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has undertaken a research project to find alternative pay plans that motivate teachers to do their best work.

Who Should Teach?
This 2000 report from Education Week details what states are doing to attract, screen, and retain competent teachers.

Georgia Teachers Now Guaranteed
This December 2002 article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution describes a new program designed by that state to improve the quality of the teaching force. School districts who are not satisfied with new teachers’ preparation may send them back for additional training at state universities, free of cost to the district or the teacher.

Customizing Our Schools
The April 2002 issue of the journal Educational Leadership, published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, focuses on school choice, and includes articles that examine various facets of the issues involved.

Program on Educational Policy and Governance
Located at the John F. Kennedy School of Governance at Harvard University, this program issues numerous reports on school choice.

Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
The Fordham Foundation is a conservative group that issues many papers and positions supporting vouchers and charter schools.

Home Schooling
The weekly publication Education Week has created this "hot topic" summary of information and resources on the growing trend of home schooling.

The Current State of School Reform

Goals 2000
Here is the original Goals 2000 report, at the U.S. Department of Education web site.

National Educational Goals Panel
The National Education Goals Panel maintains a website with data regarding the National Education Goals and indicators over the last decade.