An Evaluation of the Impact of the Basic Core of Course Offerings on Senior High School Programs.

This study evaluates the impact of the basic core course offerings, as mandated by the Montgomery County, Maryland, Board of Education. In 1981, the Board adopted 19 basic core courses, identifying specific courses in the schools' curriculum that must be offered to all high school students and setting the enrollment guide for the courses. The decision was made in order to enhance the efficacy of countywide programming. The study contains information on the impact of the resolution on course offerings, course enrollment, staffing, class size, policies, and practices. It concludes that: (1) all high schools in the county complied to a great extent with the resolution; (2) senior high schools offered more basic core courses than before; (3) the new requirements had little effect on staffing and staff use; (4) overall class size remained the same in the schools in their implemention of basic core requirements; (5) previous policy decisions, such as the movement toward grades 9-12 versus 10-12 senior high schools and loss of the seven-period day, did not adversely affect implementation of the basic core; and (6) the Board's efforts to improve class size in some courses by mandating minimum sizes in others had more negative than positive effects because students could be deprived of course opportunities by the deletion of small sections. (AOS)