Cover Photo ©Eyewire Collection

DEPARTMENTS

726 THE EDITOR'S PAGE, Brass Tacks

728 WASHINGTON COMMENTARY, A Reading List for Adults, by Anne C. Lewis

730 STATELINE, Maryland Sets a Vision for Action, by Kathy Christie

732 TECHNOLOGY, Virtual Libraries and Valuable .pdf Downloads, by Royal Van Horn

736 THOUGHTS ON TEACHING, The Return of the Butterflies, by Bobby Ann Starnes

738 RESEARCH, Test Scores, Creativity, and Global Competitiveness, by Gerald W. Bracey

798 COURTSIDE, The Minor Suit Awards IV, by Perry A. Zirkel

800 BACKTALK

802 INDEX, Volume 83 -September 2001-June 2002

JUNE 2002 * VOLUME 83 * NUMBER 10

ON THE COVER

A SPECIAL SECTION ON READING
The authors in this section discuss six characteristics of effective reading instruction in the elementary grades, the importance of a rich print environment to reading achievement, and the need to reestablish reading as a vital and productive part of middle school instruction.

740 What I've Learned About Effective Reading Instruction from a Decade of Studying Exemplary Elementary Classroom Teachers, by Richard L. Allington

748 Whole Language and the Great Plummet of 1987-92: An Urban Legend from California, by Stephen Krashen

754 There Is No Simple Way to Build a Middle School Reading Program, by Jack W. Humphrey

FEATURES

A SPECIAL SECTION ON ASSESSMENT
The articles in this section treat a range of topics, from teachers' need for assessment competence, to features of a local assessment system, to problems of computerized grading.

758 Assessment Crisis: The Absence of Assessment FOR Learning, by Richard J. Stiggins

766 The States' Role in Ensuring Assessment Competence, by Michael S. Trevisan

772 Is It a House . . . or a Pile of Bricks? Important Features of a Local Assessment System, by Theodore Coladarci

775 Computerized Gradebooks and the Myth of Objectivity, by Thomas R. Guskey

EMPTY RHETORIC
Many people are paying only lip service to the idea of improving education, the authors suggest.

781 No Child Left Behind: Facts and Fallacies, by M. Donald Thomas and William L. Bainbridge

RECOMMENDED READING
Once again, Roger Soder has collected the recommendations of his book-loving friends so that we can share them with our readers.

783 Books for Summer Reading

WORLD VIEW
In Japan, the teachers' room provides the social and psychological network that holds a public school together, Steven Gump points out.

788 Getting to the Heart of Public Junior High Schools in Japan, by Steven Gump

REFLECTIONS ON RETIREMENT
How can it be time, Selma Wassermann wonders, for her to pack up her belongings and leave teaching? What will the days be like without the excitement and challenges of a teaching life?

792 Leaving, by Selma Wassermann

ARTIST IN THE SCHOOLS
Sally Ann Harvey describes a collaborative effort that connects a school and its community through the universal language of art.

796 Out of the Art Room and into the World, by Sally Ann Harvey