ERICDIGESTS.ORG

Goals 2000 and World-Class Standards on the Internet. ERIC/AE Digest.

Many organizations, school districts, and state departments of education are posting useful materials on the Internet. These materials can prove to be a valuable resource for anyone interested in Goals 2000, World-Class standards, and school restructuring.

The digest identifies key Internet offerings related to Goals 2000 and World Class standards. Pointers to each of these offerings can be found at the ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation (ERIC/AE) gopher site (gopher.cua.edu, special resources, ERIC, Goals 2000). The broad target audience for these materials includes parents, teachers, school administrators and others concerned with improving education. The information includes activities at the local, state and Federal levels.

HIGHLIGHTS

* Parental and Local Community assistance on how to get involved and support school improvement efforts. A Goals 2000 newsletter and community exchange are included along with a community action toolkit and a list of things you can do.

* State information from 26 states which have established gopher sites, ranging from comprehensive state department of education sites to smaller specific sites on topics such as frameworks, curricula and assessments. Information on states that have received grants to develop content standards and guidance to states in preparing grant applications is included.

* National information from the U.S. Department of Education on Goals 2000 initiatives, guides for teachers, researchers and programs. It also includes information on the National Education Goals Panel and its publications and the National Education Reform Leadership, Standards and Assessment.

* World-Class Standards information on the development of standards including the National Standards Projects, State Content Standards, and essays on standards and assessments.

* International information on standards and assessment and education from the United Kingdom, Canada, Singapore and the Occupational Skills Standard Project.

* Other Goals 2000 Gophers includes gophers focused on Goals 2000 at the national, regional and state levels.

LEGISLATION AND POLICY

PARENT ASSISTANCE/INFORMATION

50 Simple Things You Can Do (gopher://gopher.ed.gov :10001/00/initiatives/ goals/50things.txt), is a useful guide for parents and others looking to help reach the goals. The U.S. Department of Education has also posted information on Parent and Community Support and Involvement (gopher://gopher.ed.gov.:10001 /00/initiatives/goals/back/states/doc3.txt) and the Strong Families, Strong School Report including school-family partnerships, family-friendly businesses, and communities and states connecting families and schools (gopher://gopher.ed.gov. :10001/11/initiatives/family/strong).

LOCAL ASSISTANCE INFORMATION

STATE ASSISTANCE/INFORMATION

The state applications for grants under Title II of the Educate America Act posted by OERI and mirrored by ERIC/AE provide information on the state's school reform and improvement efforts. The segment on State Content Standards (gopher://vms gopher.cua.edu.:70/11gophermrootmericmae:[ma2000.wcs.scs]) includes the guidance to states in preparing grant applications (gopher://gopher.ed.gov.:10001/11/initiatives/goals/guidance). ERIC/AE has created a searchable data base of the awards made to 29 states and descriptions of them.

There are also pointers to descriptions of Federal programs in each state funded by the various Departments--Agriculture, Education, Labor, etc. and Agencies--the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, etc. (gopher://enc.org/Programs and Opportunities/ Directory of Federal Programs/Program Highlights by State).

NATIONAL INFORMATION/PROGRAMS

Researchers (gopher://gopher.ed.gov.:70/11/genmprogs/guide) and the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (gopher://inet.ed. gov.:70/11/).

Information is included on the National Education Goals Panel and its publications and reports (gopher://vmsgopher. cua.edu.:70/11gophermrootmericmae:[ma2000.nip.negp]), and the National Education Reform Leadership, Standards and Assessments (gopher://gopher.ed.gov.:10001/11/initiatives/goals/guidance/natl-ed u).

WORLD CLASS STANDARDS

There are also essays on standards and assessments including issues of equity and opportunity to learn, performance standards and assessments, portfolios, technical quality, and testing as a reform tool. gopher://vmsgopher.cua.edu/11gophermrootmericmae: [ma2000.wcs.es]).

INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION

Also available is the Occupational Skills Standards Project comparing education-driven skill standards in this country to six foreign countries -- Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom (gopher://gopher.ed.gov.:10001/11/OVAE/ school2work).

OTHER GOALS 2000 GOPHERS

A number of states and a couple of regions have established Goals 2000 gophers on the Internet. Examples include state-gophers for California, Florida, Georgia (PeachNet), Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, and Texas; regional gophers for the Northeast and Island Regional Educational Laboratory (gopher://gopher..neirl.org) and the Northwest Regional Education Laboratory (gopher://gopher.nwrel.org.:70/11/goals2000).