Purpose: Writing is an essential skill that secondary students need to establish for success in their further education, careers, and lives. However, most secondary students in the United States do not achieve the level of writing proficiency expected to ensure academic and future success. One approach that is emerging more in the research…

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected student learning; according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (2022), scores for students in the United States have shown a decline in mathematics. . One way educators can strengthen students' current mathematical knowledge and bridge to new content is through Number Talks. Number Talks are brief…

Learning to write is critical in today's world, yet many students are not developing the writing abilities they need to use writing as a powerful tool for learning and for showing what they know. Research indicates that failure to acquire strong writing abilities restricts opportunities for both post-secondary education and employment. This…

Studies evaluating the graphics in science textbooks have recommended that teachers use eye-catching visuals to reinforce student learning objectives. Similarly, the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS Lead States 2013) suggest that science teachers use visuals to teach English Language Learners (ELLs). However, little research has…

Despite students' interest in informational text, it has played second fiddle in literacy instruction for years. Now, though, nonfiction is getting its turn in the spotlight. The Common Core State Standards require that students become thoughtful consumers of complex, informative texts--taking them beyond the realm of dry textbooks and…

Girls have been posting higher reading scores than boys for decades, but other trends suggest they may also have surpassed boys in overall academic performance. Girls have higher high school grade-point averages, are more widely represented as school valedictorians, and attend and graduate from college in greater numbers than boys. All this has…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress reveals that 37 percent of U.S. fourth graders fail to achieve basic levels of reading achievement. In 1997, the U.S. Congress asked that a review of research be conducted to determine what could be done to improve reading and writing achievement. The resulting "Report of the National Reading…

The National Writing Project (NWP) is the nation's premier professional development network dedicated to improving the teaching of writing. The NWP network comprises nearly 200 local sites in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. This report presents the results of a seven-year survey study of teachers participating in NWP summer…

This booklet draws on the findings of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) geography survey of 1988 and shapes recommendations for practices that will make teachers more effective in stimulating student excitement about this increasingly important subject. The assessment surveyed more than 3,000 high school seniors in…

Reviews developments in geography education since World War II. Finds reasons for cautious optimism as a result of the development of national standards in core curriculum subjects and earlier efforts by the Geography Education National Implementation Project. (CFR)

Presents research data that demonstrates current disparities in science proficiency among subgroups defined by gender and race. Discusses differences in achievement, science experiences out of school, and academic support. Presents seven guidelines for structuring science activities that motivate and respond to the interests of all students. (19…

In an effort for schools to obtain Adequate Yearly Progress, the pressure is on to make certain that students are loaded with as much information as possible in order to score well on the high stakes tests. Writing has continued to move down the list of priorities of what is taught because: it is not being tested or is minimally being assessed.…

Argues that geography education lacks empirical data that might inform and underpin decisions about standards setting, curriculum design, materials development, teaching strategies, and assessment procedures. Identifies four needs: (1) a new attitude toward research; (2) baseline studies; (3) a research agenda; and (4) a research clearinghouse.…

Evidence from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and other sources suggests that both the content and structure of our school science curricula are generally incongruent with the ideals of the scientific enterprise. By neglecting the kinds of instructional activities that make purposeful connections between the study and…

Presents an experimental primary trait rubric designed to assess a writer's support for an argument, and structured as an eleven-cell grid on which a rater can plot a student's score. Describes the grid, and its use in a study of 1,892 eleventh-grade essays. Also describes ways to use the grid to teach invention and arrangement. (JG)