The Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary, and Vocational Education of the House Committee on Education and Labor met to consider the recommendations of the National Council on Education Standards and Testing. The report recommends the establishment of national education standards, a national system of assessments, and the establishment of a reconfigured National Education Goals Panel and a national education standards and assessment council to coordinate the development of the standards and assessments. Testifying on behalf of the Council's recommendations were M. S. Smith (Stanford University) and (L. B. Resnick, Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh and National Council on Education Standards and Testing). Opposition to the proposal for national testing was expressed by L. Darling-Hammond (National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools and Teaching, Columbia University). W. M. Haney (Center for the Study of Testing, Evaluation, and Educational Policy, Boston College) outlined a number of shortcomings in the Council report, largely in the area of national testing. Additional statements were offered by: (1) N. V. Cantu, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Texas; (2) L. Rezmierski, superintendent of Northville schools, Michigan; (3) H. D. Hoover, Iowa Basic Skills Testing, Iowa; (4) M. J. Feuer, Office of Technology Assessment, accompanied by N. Carson, Office of Technology Assessment; (5) A. Shanker, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO; (6) D. T. Kearns, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C.; (7) R. Romer, Governor of Colorado, Co-Chair National Council on Education Standards and Testing; (8) K. Geiger, National Education Association, National Council on Education Standards and Testing; (9) B. Rosenberg, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO; (10) D. M. Koretz, Rand Corporation; and (11) M. H. Kean, Association of American Publishers and CTB Macmillan/McGraw-Hill. Prepared statements by these speakers and additional prepared statements and supplemental materials are provided. (SLD)

This congressional hearing focuses on the importance of incorporating workplace skills into K-12 education and how H.R. 4078, the Workforce Readiness Act of 1992, might accomplish this. Testimony includes statements and prepared statements of the Secretary of Education, a Representative in Congress, Secretary of Labor, and individuals representing the Institute on Education and the Economy; Council of Chief State School Officers; Director of Vocational-Technical Education--Genesee Intermediate School District, Flint, Michigan; Project BEL (Business/Education/Labor Partnership); and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. (YLB)

The principles upon which instructional planning proceeds are applicable to deaf students at all grade levels; thus, the book is suitable for teachers at the elementary through high school levels. These principles are diverse but revolve around four central themes: 1) Creating authentic experiences; 2) Integrating vocabulary development; 3) Creating opportunities for self-expression; and 4) Providing deaf role models. When applicable, distinctions are made between the various instructional roles of teachers in self-contained classrooms, resource room teachers, and itinerant teachers, as well as general education teachers who have deaf students in their classrooms.

Beyond Standards highlights the structural conditions that have undermined the success of the standards movement and challenges us to confront them. The book offers an impassioned argument about the ways that our decentralized educational systems undermine the pursuit of educational equity and excellence. Morgan Polikoff applies a wide array of quantitative and qualitative data to provide a pointed critique of the US educational system. He addresses why standards have failed, whether standards-based reform can be salvaged, and what we can do to improve teaching and learning at scale across America's 13,000 school districts. Polikoff argues that no amount of tinkering can fix standards. Rather, we need to tackle the big, structural issues, such as decentralization. The author identifies curriculum reform as a high-leverage strategy for making meaningful progress at scale and emphasizes that states need to play a greater role in evaluating and recommending high-quality curriculum materials. Beyond Standards proposes a new, progressive vision that emphasizes the central role of states in challenging the antiquated, segregating structures that have thwarted educational improvement.

Karen Gallas provides us with a window into children’s thinking about the world, enabling us to see how students build complex theories, identify important questions, and begin to enter the world of science, all within the naturalistic setting of the classroom. As the title suggests, this book treats classroom science as a particular type of discourse, with its own set of language and thinking practices. Gallas describes the content, structure, and practice of her child-centered approach, explains how the teacher’s role in Science Talks develops and changes over time, and discusses how the use of Science Talks could transform science instruction as a whole. The full transcripts of two such talks included in the appendix, in addition to many smaller quoted interchanges throughout the text, will fascinate readers.

This unique test focuses on the topics of evaluation, the effects of hearing loss on speech perception and auditory skill development, social and conversational competence, communication repair, self-concept development, self-advocacy and assessing access to the general education curriculum. Building Skills for Success in the Fast-Paced Classroom contains pertinent content along with a compilation of tools and materials that are indispensable to every teacher, audiologist and service provider that supports students with hearing loss in the schools. The resource materials that are included in each chapter are just one feature that distinguishes this text from others in deaf education. Resource materials are also targeted for teaching students and their parents.

In the movement toward standards-based education, an important question stands out: How will this reform affect the 10% of school-aged children who have disabilities and thus qualify for special education? In Educating One and All, an expert committee addresses how to reconcile common learning for all students with individualized education for "one"â€"the unique student. The book makes recommendations to states and communities that have adopted standards-based reform and that seek policies and practices to make reform consistent with the requirements of special education. The committee explores the ideas, implementation issues, and legislative initiatives behind the tradition of special education for people with disabilities. It investigates the policy and practice implications of the current reform movement toward high educational standards for all students. Educating One and All examines the curricula and expected outcomes of standards-based education and the educational experience of students with disabilitiesâ€"and identifies points of alignment between the two areas. The volume documents the diverse population of students with disabilities and their school experiences. Because approaches to assessment and accountability are key to standards-based reforms, the committee analyzes how assessment systems currently address students with disabilities, including testing accommodations. The book addresses legal and resource implications, as well as parental participation in children's education.

This document records the oral and written testimony given at a congressional hearing on school-to-work transitions, focusing on four local programs that have involved cooperation between industry, labor, schools, and the local community to help young people bridge the gap between school and work. The four programs described are as follows: (1) the General Motors-United Auto Workers Quality Education Program designed to bring female and minority high school students into the skilled trades; (2) BOSS (Business as On-Site Schools), a cooperative effort with Southern Bell, the Communication Workers of America, and the Alachua County School Board in Florida, in which at-risk students work at a Southern Bell facility for 20 hours per week under the direction of a mentor; (3) the Pennsylvania Youth Apprenticeship Program of the Industrial Modernization Center in Pennsylvania, which is operated as a machine shop youth apprenticeship program primarily for the metal trades; and (4) the Roosevelt Renaissance Program, a high school restructuring program in Portland, Oregon. All witnesses emphasized the cooperation needed in their programs, and the successes they had achieved. More such efforts were advocated, and federal legislation addressing the need for such programs is being drafted. (KC)