Cover Art ©Jem Sullivan

DEPARTMENTS

178 THE EDITOR'S PAGE, A Moving Target

179 WASHINGTON COMMENTARY, A Horse Called NCLB, by Anne C. Lewis

181 STATELINE, States Take on the Training of Paraprofessionals, by Kathy Christie

184 PULSE OF THE PUBLIC, A Follow-Up on the Voucher Issue, by Lowell C. Rose and Alec M. Gallup

245 RESEARCH, Another Nation at Risk?, by Gerald W. Bracey

248 TECHNOLOGY, The Digital Millennium Copyright Act and Other Egregious Laws, by Royal Van Horn

250 COURTSIDE, What Ever Happened in the Appeal of . . . ? Part II, by Perry A. Zirkel

252 IN CANADA, Tales from the Jungle, by Heather-jane Robertson

255 BACKTALK

NOVEMBER 2002 * Volume 84 * Number 3

ON THE COVER

Tests are at best thermometers, not cures, Ms. Meier argues. And they cannot tell us what a change in temperature means. For that, we need real standards, not standardization; we need to rely on our judgment.

190 Standardization Versus Standards, by Deborah Meier

FEATURES

CHANGING CAREERS
186 The Career Switcher Program, by Robert H. MacDonald and M. Lee Manning

A SPECIAL SECTION ON TESTING AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Mr. Behuniak focuses readers' attention on the needs of the consumers of tests, while Mr. Newell examines a wholly different approach to accountability.

199 Consumer-Referenced Testing, by Peter Behuniak
208 A Different Look at Accountability: The EdVisions Approach, by Ronald J. Newell

SCOPE AND SEQUENCE
The Zengers ask whether anyone really knows why subject matter is taught when it is in our schools.

212 Why Teach Certain Material at Specific Grade Levels?, by Weldon F. Zenger and Sharon K. Zenger

TEACHERS' VIEWS ON HIGH-STAKES TESTING
Mr. Rapp shares the views of the highly experienced Ohio teachers he surveyed, while Ms. Winkler takes a very close look at the attitudes of a small number of Virginia teachers.

215 National Board Certified Teachers in Ohio Give State Education Policy, Classroom Climate, and High-Stakes Testing a Grade of F, by Dana Rapp
219 Division in the Ranks: Standardized Testing Draws Lines Between New and Veteran Teachers, by Amber Winkler

AT ODDS: PROJECT STAR
226 A Superficial Take on Project STAR, by James P. Shaver
227 Missing the Mark, by Jeremy D. Finn

AN URBAN SCHOOL THAT WORKS
230 A "Communally Bonded" School for African American Students, Families, and a Community, by Jerome E. Morris

A SPECIAL SECTION ON GENDER EQUITY
David Sadker imagines a "Bizarro World" in arguing that we need to make schools fairer and more humane environments for all our students, while Jo Sanders wonders where gender issues have gone in teacher education.

235 An Educator's Primer on the Gender War, by David Sadker
241 Something Is Missing from Teacher Education: Attention to Two Genders, by Jo Sanders