GI Forum v. Texas Education Agency: Implications for State Assessment Programs

Over a decade passed between the landmark legal challenge to Florida's high school graduation test (Debra P. v. Turlington, 1984) and the legal challenge to the Texas high school graduation test (GI Forum v. Texas Education Agency, 2000). However, the popularity of accountability systems heavily weighted with scores from a variety of tests, including tests for graduation and promotion from grade to grade, makes these and other tests inviting targets for challenge and possible litigation. The recent legal challenge in Texas has broad implications for state assessment programs. The legal success surrounding the Texas case was not just good fortune. In this article, I (a former state test director whose responsibilities included supervision of a high school graduation test) discuss implications and issues associated with the Texas case.     

Defending a State Graduation Test: GI Forum v. Texas Education Agency. Measurement Perspectives From an External Evaluator

In this article, I present the perspectives of an independent measurement expert regarding the Texas state graduation test, the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS). I conclude, among other things, that (a) the TAAS was constructed according to acceptable professional standards; (b) it tests curricular material that Texas Board of Education views important for graduates to have mastered; (c) students have had ample opportunity to learn the material tested on the TAAS; (d) providing instruction on the domain the test samples seems commendable; (e) the TAAS requirement should increase efforts to educate all students in Texas; (f) the TAAS is sufficiently reliable and valid; (g) conjunctive decision making is an appropriate decision making model; and (h) the standard setting was done in a manner that met professional standards.     

From the States: Performance funding in Texas

“From the States” for this issue is written by my friend and guest columnist Jerry Gaither, who provides a good overview of Texas's “near miss” with performance funding. Other states currently examining performance funding options are Missouri, Minnesota, and Colorado. —Peter T. Ewell     

前瞻·引领·开放·践行——"2010国际远程教育前沿论坛"综述

2010年10月10日至11日,2010国际远程教育前沿论坛暨北医网院十周年庆典大会在北京召开。论坛由全国高校现代远程教育协作组、北京大学、英国开放大学共同主办,由北京大学医学网络教育学院发起并承办。全国人大常委会副委员长、北京大学医学部主任韩启德应邀担任论坛名誉主席,北京大学常务副校长、医学部常务副主任柯杨担任论坛主席。本次论坛的主题为前瞻.引领.开放.践行,与会专家学者结合远程开放教育相关领域的进展与成果进行了探讨,试图站在理论、实践和政策的前沿,观照远程开放教育未来发展的新使命、新机遇和新挑战。从研讨情况看,针对业界所熟知的领域和论题,与会者们的分析视角和提出的观点,对于进一步探讨一系列较深层次的问题颇具启发意义,如怎样更密切地结合经济社会的发展进程来认识远程开放教育的现状与趋势,怎样在创新探索中更切实地把对教与学的关注落到实处、更好地强化教与学的各个环节,怎样更有效地进行教学与科研团队建设,怎样顺应质量保障体系建设的大趋势,怎样更系统地认识政府与政策的角色与作用,等等。本刊记者对论坛研讨内容作一简要综述,希望有助于读者了解相关进展。     

The Procedural Queer: Substantive Due Process,Lawrence v. Texas,and Queer Rhetorical Futures

This essay discusses Justice Anthony M. Kennedy's choice to foreground arguments from due process rather than equal protection in the majority opinion in Lawrence v. Texas. Kennedy's choice can realize constitutional legal doctrine that is more consistent with radical queer politics than arguments from equal protection. Unlike some recent critiques of Kennedy's opinion, a queer rhetorical analysis of Lawrence reveals a futuristic, always-open-to-change vision in Kennedy's rhetorical framing of constitutional law that is significantly less damaging to possibilities for “queer world making” in the United States than other contemporary US judicial arguments of and about sexuality.     

Getting Ready for the Future of Brown v. Board of Education

This article provides historical and legal context and resources for readers (and in many cases their students) about the threshold period when this country changed from a legally segregated society to one of greater freedom. The body of the article provides background for Brown and related stories, a primer on the structure of the legal system, and significant legal progress toward and distinctions between the two U.S. Supreme Court decisions that comprise what has come to be know as Brown. Appendices are comprised of significant legal documents, including the complete decisions, a glossary of terms used throughout this issue, and an annotated bibliography of selected titles. It is the hope that by providing a thorough background in these various areas, readers will become sufficiently informed to fully appreciate the other articles in this special issue.     

The NatureMapping Program: Resource Agency Environmental Education Reform

Abstract

Environmental education for youth and adults is being redefined at resource agencies. The driving forces are education reform and citizen demands to be involved in environmental management decisions. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife examined its traditional environmental education programs and identified the need to create opportunities for citizen involvement as a means to educate while directly impacting its mission. Through a partnership with the Washington Cooperative Research Unit Gap Analysis Project, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife created the NatureMapping Program. The NatureMapping Program enables volunteers, including schools, to collect environmental data that are valuable to governments and communities for problem solving and decision making. A recent study of schools actively NatureMapping describes increased school-community links, motivated students, and a systemic change in curriculum through interdisciplinary inquiry. Resource experts have benefited from new species information and increased community involvement.     

教育全球化:政府、市场与社会--第二届世界比较教育论坛综述

2005年8月22日至24日,由北京师范大学主办、北京师范大学比较教育研究中心和香港大学比较教育研究中心承办的第二届世界比较教育论坛在北京师范大学英东学术会堂隆重举行.中国教育学会会长顾明远教授、世界比较教育学会联合会主席马克·贝磊(Mark Bray)教授和秘书长福克斯(Christine Fox)教授、日本比较教育学会前会长铃木慎一(Shinichi Suzuki)教授和现任会长望田研吾(Kengo Mochioda)教授、美国比较教育学会前会长阿诺夫(Robert Arnove)教授、欧洲比较教育学会前会长于根·施瑞尔教授、韩国比较教育学会会长李铉清(Lee Hyun Chong)教授、香港比较教育学会会长王淑英(Suk-ying Wong)教授以及中国比较教育学会会长钟启泉教授、副会长王英杰教授和孙启林教授、秘书长赵中建教授等出席了论坛,来自德国、法国、比利时、澳大利亚、美国、加拿大、墨西哥、巴西、日本、韩国、印度、新加坡、马来西亚、菲律宾、中国等15个国家以及中国香港和台湾地区的200余位代表参加了会议.大会共收到100余篇学术论文.     

E-learning大讲堂:一个生动的准远程教育案例

文章采用案例研究和对比分析法,从远程教育的角度分析了正在成长中的E-learning大讲堂,认为它鲜明地体现了远程、开放、自主、协作的特征,探索出网络时代经济、灵活的虚拟研讨实践模式,成为教育技术领域研究和交流的学习社区。并与远程教育领域曾经开展的虚拟研讨班进行对比,简要分析了大讲堂的交互特征,最后提出了大讲堂完善发展的若干建议。     

Copyright Highway-Photocopying as Fair Use -Williams & Wilkins Co. v. United States

Fair use doctrine is easily controversial and difficult to judge, and owning to the coming of the new age, fair use doctrine becomes more troublesome. This paper will hold the balance between the right...     

教育中介组织:解决高校两难困境的组织创新

在当前高等教育体制深化改革的过程当中，借鉴西方国家的经验，建立和完善高等教育中介组织，是高等教育管理的重要环节。高等教育中介组织的建立是协调高校与政府、高校与社会之间的关系，完善高校自身制度建设和提高管理专业化的需要。如何健全教育中介组织体系、赋予教育中介组织以权威性和合法性、完善教育中介组织的运行规则、加强政府职能的转化是我们当前必须思考的问题。     

布朗诉教育委员会案的微观分析

美国联邦最高法院在布朗诉教育委员会(1954)一案中宣告学校中的种族隔离制度违宪。该案重塑了教育平等权的概念,在全世界范围内都产生深远影响。然而这一举世闻名的案件事实上是发生在四个不同州的法律诉讼的集合。借助当年的史料,本文对发生在弗吉尼亚州的案件的缘起、发展、以及在实施中所遇到的重重困难和阻力进行微观分析。该分析显示,布朗案仅是美国教育种族合校的开始,远非胜利。