country. Wherever Carnegie’s David Hornbeck goes one can expect a first-class academic flop! Of course, flops are essential in order to convince the public that “workforce training” is the solution—the deliberate dumbing down at work.]
1994
U.S. COALITION FOR EDUCATION FOR ALL: A HISTORY WAS PUBLISHED IN 1994 BY THE U.S. Coalition for Education for All based in Washington, D.C. Excerpts from that publication follow:
U.S. delegates from government agencies and non-governmental organizations participated in the 1990 World Conference and helped to prepare the Education for All (EFA) goals and action plan. In February 1991 the U. S. Coalition for Education for All (USCEFA) was created to promote EFA awareness and activities in the United States and to serve as a link to the global EFA movement.… In 1991, USCEFA held its first major conference, “Learning for All: Bridging Domestic and International Education.”… …From this conference the USCEFA’s agenda unfolded. USCEFA organized a symposium
entitled “Integrating Social Services and Education: A Look at Collaboration and Delivery.” At the first meeting of the International Consultative Forum on EFA, U.N. sponsors singled out USCEFA as a model for national initiatives supporting basic education worldwide. This forum selected USCEFA to lead an international task force to explore the involvement of media in education.... USCEFA’s 1994 main events included: a symposium entitled “The Educational Impli-
cations of NAFTA” [North American Free Trade Agreement] that addressed educational issues emerging in the wake of the signing of the NAFTA agreement; co-sponsorship of a global teleconference entitled “Global Interdependence: the United States and the Third World.” USCEFA’s most prominent 1994 event is its December conference; “The Revolution in World Education: Toward Systemic Change.” This conference explores systemic change in education and the achievement of educational goals and outcomes around the world.... USCEFA will continue to cooperate internationally to keep the spirit of the Jomtien Conference alive and to make Education for All a reality at home and abroad.
“TO OBE OR NOT TO OBE?” WAS THE QUESTION POSED BY MARJORIE LEDELL, ASSOCIATE of Wil- liam Spady’s in his High Success Network, in her article for Educational Leadership’s January 1994 issue. From page 18 we read:
Finally, raise the real issue and depend on democracy. Don’t let “to OBE or Not to OBE”
or “to implement or not implement efforts to improve student learning” cloud the overdue national debate about whether public education should exist or be replaced with publicly funded private education.
THE JANUARY 1994 ISSUE OF THE EFFECTIVE SCHOOL REPORT CARRIED AN ARTICLE ENtitled “Alter- native Assessment of Student Achievement: The Open Book Test” by Thomas A. Kelly, Ph.D. An excerpt follows: