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Only in the last several years have state curriculum guides become prominent in education reform discourse and policy. This paper focuses on the organization and content of curriculum guides in four states regarded as leaders in education reform--Florida, Texas, California, and New York--in an effort to develop a way of comparing and contrasting various state approaches to the design of such documents. The review focuses on the rationales and degrees of prescriptiveness in secondary education curriculum guides for mathematics and social studies. A conclusion is that state leadership in education reform is not well served by curriculum guides that embody no clear rationale or standards. Clear, detailed, and well -organized guides may be an effective instrument of reform if they are part of a coherent policy framework. However, to have impact, they must have curricular validity in the eyes of local educators. The state must also provide significant support and incentives. The question of whether guides can substantively improve curriculum and instruction remains unanswered. Four figures and a list of state curriculum resources are included. (LMI)

Background: A growing literature is questioning the appropriateness of a research dissertation for practitioners in education doctoral programs. Although this literature persuasively critiques the prevailing theory-research orientation of most programs and theses, it goes little beyond exhorting change and describing extant alternatives in a few programs. There is little attention in this literature to the powerful structures and values holding in place the traditional research dissertation. This literature has not examined in-depth distinctions between research and organizational problem solving and the implications for an alternative thesis design for education leadership doctorates. Findings: This article presents four "qualities of acceptability" that alternatives to the traditional research thesis must address: (a) developmental efficacy, (b) community benefit, (c) stewardship of doctoral values, and (d) distinctiveness of design. The author comments on existing proposals from the standpoint of this framework, noting their strengths and shortcomings; elaborates on five key distinctions between research and organizational problem solving; presents theory and research supporting a thesis based on organizational problem solving; and proposes a specific and distinctive thesis design. (Contains 2 tables and 13 notes.)

This book was designed as an assessment of standardized testing and its alternatives at the secondary school level. More specifically, a framework for thinking systematically and creatively about assessment, a review of the uses and limitations of standardized tests of general achievement, and descriptions of several methods that may offer more helpful approaches to assessment are provided. All three specific components are grounded in a broad perspective that calls attention to the purposes of assessment, levels of assessment, and two critical issues (authenticity and multiple indicators). The nature of authentic academic achievement is discussed, and approaches to assessing authentic academic achievement are forwarded. Assessment of organizational academic quality is addressed, and implementation of assessment programs is reviewed. A discussion on the uses and limitations of standardized tests is appended. A 66-item list of references is included. (TJH)

Reports a study that analyzed relationships between enrollment in elementary magnet schools and related socioeconomic, racial, and geographic variables in a big city school system. Variables related to parent socioeconomic status and proximity to magnet schools were found to be significant predictors of magnet enrollment. (Author/SM)

Devising better definitions and measures of school choice practices and policies would improve understanding of choice and help evaluate its prevalence and effects. This article proposes system/district-level indicators of school choice that could operationalize the concept and produce valuable interdistrict comparative information on choice processes and outcomes. (37 references) (MLH)

Reports the results from a longitudinal cohort analysis of achievement among elementary magnet students, neighborhood school students, and predominantly black transfer students in one urban district with a school choice program. Two successive cohorts of students were compared on achievement scores. Results indicated magnet students generally had the highest performance. (Author/SM)

Analyzes 106 randomly selected school restructuring proposals from 1,600 submitted to the RJR Nabisco Foundation's Next Century Schools Program. The majority of these proposals emphasized student/parent support and curriculum improvement. Most avoided breadth versus depth and substantive discussion/inquiry issues and left governance structures essentially intact. Planned reforms were surprisingly conventional. (Contains 93 references.) (MLH)

Recent years have seen a new and serious commitment to improving methods of assessing academic performance. Schools, school districts, and states are experimenting with a wide range of assessment alternatives. This paper is about this new commitment to assessment and begins with some background on standardized tests because the rationale for authentic assessment requires understanding the purposes and limitations of standardized tests. It is argued that an authentic test is one that measures performance on authentic intellectual tasks in a way that reveals precisely what a student knows or can do. The second part of the paper discusses the potential of authentic assessment to improve curriculum and instruction. The following potentials are noted: (1) clarifying and legitimating high standards; (2) providing incentives for authentic instruction and tasks; and (3) providing more useful instructional and management information. It must be recognized that authentic assessment is costly and time-consuming, but its return is recognized in the fulfillment of the potentials described. Five figures illustrate the discussion. (Contains 41 references.) (SLD)