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Recently, legislators have become interested in school privatization as a tool to increase educational choices, introducing more than 400 bills related to privatization during the 1998 session. The education privatization movement is a compilation of many different efforts to expand the role of private schools in education. The efforts include using public funds directly through grants or scholarships, and indirectly through tax incentives. Through a survey of legislation and a review of available literature, this paper details the current state of privatization efforts. Data collection included a search of the StateNet database (a private database of all bills introduced during the current session in every state legislature and Congress). The search turned up 452 bills related to choice, vouchers, tax credits, and charter schools. The bills identified were categorized by reform, content, sponsor, sponsor's party affiliation, party control of legislature and governor's office, and final status (passed, failed, or vetoed). This report presents an overview of the legislation, then offers case examinations from Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and Virginia. An appendix defines relevant terms. (Contains 47 references.) (SM)

Florida and Texas have tied evaluation of preservice teacher programs to performance measures. These reforms may have an impact on the functioning of teacher education programs within their institutions of higher education (IHE's). In 1996, Florida's State Board of Education adopted the Florida Education Standards Commission's (ECS) Recommendation on Performance Standards for Continuing Program Approval of Preservice Teacher Education Programs. This includes five indicators or performance standards for continuing preservice program approval: candidate demonstration of knowledge and skills upon preservice completion; successful performance on the Florida Teacher Certification Examination; inclusion of program components mandated by state statute or rule; diversity of enrollment in preservice programs; and satisfaction of employing districts with beginning teachers. Initial program approval for IHE's involves submitting curriculum folios for each program then completing an on-site review by the Department of Education Board of Regents and NCATE. Once approved, programs must undergo continued review and approval. The Texas system of preservice program evaluation is the ASEP (Accountability System for Educator Preparation), which includes two components. The first is a set of state generated exams which must be active by late 1998. The second is a performance evaluation that must be active by 2002. The performance evaluation states that poor performance by any subgroup of students, even if overall scores are acceptable, puts the institution or program under review. In both states, these standards will ensure that IHE's be treated similarly by the state boards. (SM)

Standardized testing plays an increasingly important role in the lives of today's students and educators. The U.S. No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires assessment in math and literacy in grades 3-8 and 10 and, as of 2007-08, in science once in grades 3-5, 6-9, and 10-12. Based on National Center for Education Statistics enrollment projections, that will be roughly 68 million tests per year, simply to meet the requirements of NCLB. Such an intense focus on assessment, with real consequences attached for students and educators, makes it imperative that policymakers understand the complexities involved with assessment and in using assessments as part of high-stakes accountability policies. As policymakers continue to establish and revise state and national assessment and accountability systems, two overarching questions must be addressed: (1) Do current tests supply valid and reliable information?; and (2) What happens to such assessments when high stakes are attached to the outcomes? This paper offers suggestions for policymakers on how they can create policies that can support positive assessment systems. (Contains 3 resources.)

Over the past decade, preschool initiatives, reading reform, and class size reduction efforts have helped focus attention on improving education at the elementary school level. Policy attention has also been paid to middle schools as educators have tried to figure out how best to reach students who are no longer children, but not yet adults. However, in all this activity, improving the high school experience for students has been lost. High school reform efforts have generally taken two related approaches to improvement: a structural approach and a conceptual approach. The structural approach has focused on changing the school structures through which students experience high school. The conceptual approach to high school reform works to revise the content and curriculum that students experience. This approach has focused on two related efforts: reconceptualizing education as an 18+ year continuum and increasing the rigor of the curriculum available to students. High school reforms are based on two important assumptions: the structures of high school frequently get in the way of educating students, and educational content should be more strongly focused on academics, with an emphasis on mathematics, literacy, and science. The fundamental goal of policymakers has become preparing students for the content they are likely to face in postsecondary education--particularly in colleges and universities. This transition to a policy goal of sending all students to college is the culmination of many years of effort to change public perspective, particularly for at-risk students, related to the value and accessibility of postsecondary education. Despite the many positive aspects of strengthening academic instruction and increasing student access to postsecondary education, these policy changes have had a significant negative impact. Research findings suggest that the emphasis on academic achievement and the use of high-stakes barriers to graduation have led to a narrowing of the curriculum and many students' increased disengagement from education, resulting in higher dropout rates and off-the-record push-out of low-performing students.

The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) believes that education policy and practice must be based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the learning needs of the whole child. This approach ensures education excellence and equity for each student--especially those from underserved populations. Meeting the needs of the whole child means providing a balanced curriculum, linking health needs with learning expectations, and ensuring fair and comprehensive assessments. ASCD's focus on the whole child is derived from four positions adopted by the ASCD Leadership Council in 2004. These four positions are high-stakes testing, the achievement gap, health and learning, and the whole child. These positions were adopted against the backdrop of the current environment of high-stakes, punitive accountability that pushes educators to narrow the curriculum at the expense of the needs of the whole child. Addressing the needs of students is a moral imperative that must not be ignored, even though such a broad, whole-child view of education places added responsibilities on teachers, schools, policymakers, and the larger community. Meeting these needs requires a conscious effort by educators, policymakers, and the general public to create and sustain schools in which all members of the school community develop ethically, physically, emotionally, and civically--as well as academically.

In the 50 years since "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka" formally desegregated public schools, there has been enormous progress in the academic success of African Americans, particularly in high school completion, improved test scores, increased college enrollment, and attainment of advanced degrees, as well as full access to and participation in all areas of employment. Despite the great strides that have been made over the past half-century, however, many schools in the United States are once again segregating; previous efforts to address inequities and racial isolation, including busing and affirmative action, are being rolled back; and serious disparities remain in minority graduation rates, school achievement, and participation in higher education. Many of the current issues that educators and policymakers face regarding race and minority achievement have their roots in the history of "Brown". The issues that originated under the institutional racism that led to the segregation of black students now apply more broadly to Hispanics, Asians, and other ethnic, minority, and disability groups, as well as economically segregated students and communities. As we celebrate the successes of the past 50 years, it is important to look at the broader picture surrounding "Brown" and work to ensure that we hold true to the legacy of a belief that separate is inherently unequal. A list of resources is included.