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A tech prep (TP) curriculum merges academic programs and career preparation and is a direct attempt to rethink both the purpose and the method of secondary schooling for many students. TP sprang from the employment legislation of the 1960s and was given strong impetus by the education reform movement of the 1980s. Congress authorized national funding for TP programs in the 1990 Perkins Act. Applied academics are the heart of TP. A TP curriculum is competency based and fuses secondary and postsecondary education into one articulate program. Its four instructional strategies originate from the characteristics of the modern workplace. They are applications-based instruction, cooperative learning, problem solving, and learning styles. A number of elements crucial to the success of the TP program require professional development for the faculty. Schools must form links with outside resources. School leaders must change faculty attitudes. Faculty must develop a balanced core of common learning, be trained in alternate methods of measurement, collaborate with other disciplines, and be trained in ways to provide students with active learning opportunities. TP calls for partnerships between schools and business and industry. Characteristics of effective partnerships are a school-business/industry liaison, a written specific agreement, collaborative leadership, meaningful incentives for participation, outcome-based and measurable results, and continuing support. TP has been implemented successfully in Indiana, North Carolina, and Texas. (Contains 30 references.) (YLB)

This guide to residential state academies for academically gifted high school students discusses the history of this movement, student characteristics, curricula, faculty, outreach programs, and evaluation. The establishment of the nine existing state institutions is traced from the prototype, the North Carolina School for Science and Mathematics, to the most recent, established in Alabama in 1991. Reasons for such schools are given, ranging from the specialized curricula needed by such students to their need for peer support. The question of elitism is addressed, suggesting that such schools actually are egalitarian in that they provide an opportunity for all students from both poor and wealthy regions of the state to go as far as they can. The various selection processes are described and compared, noting that the use of holistic methods (rather than standardized tests) results in enrollments more consistent with the demographic profiles of the state's population. Curricula are discussed, with special focus on the Indiana Academy Curriculum. Criteria for selecting faculty are then briefly considered as are state academy outreach programs. The lack of comprehensive and systematic evaluation of these new institutions is noted. (Contains 21 references.) (DB)

This study outlines and evaluates the admissions policies and procedures devised for evaluating applicants to the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities. The procedures utilized a holistic file review process that required applications to be evaluated in the context of their local regions. Complete student files, which included standardized test scores, grade transcripts, teacher and administrator recommendations, and student accounts of accomplishments, were evaluated and assigned a score in aptitude, achievement, and accomplishment. The file review process determined who would be invited to interview for admission. In the first 2 years of the Academy, 160 students were invited to interview. Results of statistical analysis of student records showed that: (1) the admissions procedures produced a student body that was characterized by academic excellence, geographic diversity, and ethnographic diversity; (2) the aptitude, achievement, accomplishment, and composite ratings from the holistic method were positively correlated with usual predictors such as Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, grades, and teacher recommendations and were positively correlated with academy grade point averages; and (3) canonical correlation and stepwise regression procedures do not produce results that would lead to the construction of a useful analytical model for predicting academic performance. These findings support the continued use of the holistic file review process and demonstrate that a holistic student identification method encourages attention to equity issues that usual predictors do not. (Contains 18 references.) (JDD)

This study examined whether using teaching portfolios would affect the meaning given to basic concepts in education by preservice teachers. Preservice teachers from two universities completed surveys before and after an experimental group was trained in teaching portfolios. At the semester's end, there were noticeable shifts in meaning attributable to training in portfolio use. (SM)

This article presents a comparative analysis of the changes in teacher education in the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the United States, reporting the significant changes proposed for teacher education in Taiwan and comparing them to the major themes in the United States teacher education reform movement. (SM)