The purpose of this review is to provide a comparison of reading outcomes of the two most popular bilingual programs in the United States: Transitional Bilingual Education and Two-way Bilingual programs. To provide context, we present a theoretical framework and a brief historical perspective on how these programs came to gain popularity. We…

One in five school-age children in the U.S. speaks a language other than English at home (Zeigler & Camarota, 2014). Roughly half of these emerging bilingual students (Garcia, 2009) are classified as English learners (ELs) when they enter school, meaning they do not meet state or district criteria for English proficiency (NCES, 2015). As the…

Previous high school research has highlighted the importance of students' freshman year. Limited research has supported the implementation of a smaller learning community, also known as a freshman academy. The theoretical framework of the study was based on stage environment fit, adolescence development and smaller learning community theories. The…

Policymakers nationwide continue to wrestle with a basic question: At what grade level should students move to a new school? In the most common grade configuration in American school districts, public school students make two school transitions, entering a middle school in grade 6 or 7 and a high school in grade 9. This pattern reflects the…

To provide greater support for students as they transition to ninth grade, the Texas Legislature funded the Texas Ninth Grade Transition and Intervention (TNGTI) grant program. TNGTI grantees implemented a variety of supports to at-risk students transitioning to ninth grade, including a summer transition program, an early warning data system, and…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate a freshmen transition program for at-risk students at a large urban high school. The program is called HEART, which is an acronym for Helping Everyone Aim for the Right Target. This research consisted of both quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative portion included a…

The purpose of this program evaluation was to examine the influences of the Link Crew Transitional program upon transition to ninth grade and the promotion of the developmental assets of bonding to school, safety, caring school climate, and positive peer influences. The research design for this evaluation was qualitative. Focus groups were…

No significant difference in beginning ninth-grade pretest compared to ending ninth-grade posttest comparisons of American History t(17) = 0.34, p = 0.37 (one-tailed), d = 0.09, English t(17) = 1.40, p = 0.09 (one-tailed), d = 0.34, and Biology (t(17) = -1.58, p = 0.07 (one-tailed), d = -0.22, course grade scores were observed for students…

This paper reports a two-year longitudinal study of the effects of cooperative learning on science attainment, attitudes towards science, and social connectedness during transition from primary to high school. A previous project on cooperative learning in primary schools observed gains in science understanding and in social aspects of school life.…

The transition from 8th grade to 9th grade is one that is replete with challenges for students, especially for minority students who live in economically disadvantaged communities. One low-income, high minority comprehensive high school in the western United States implemented five separate strategies to create a freshman transition program to aid…

This article reports data from a 2-year longitudinal study on cooperative learning in school science. The study reported the effects of cooperative learning in science on science attainment, effective development and social connectedness, and interactions during transition from elementary to high school in rural and urban school settings. The…

Youth with disabilities are disproportionately represented in the child welfare system (Crosse, Kaye, & Ratnofsky, 1992; Sullivan & Knutson, 2000). Although research on this topic is limited, youth with disabilities who are emancipating from foster care are at risk for particularly poor outcomes, experiencing even lower rates of employment,…

Several schools that eschewed the middle school model and remained K-8 discovered anecdotally that their students showed fewer behavioral problems and higher academic achievement than many students enrolled in middle schools. On the basis of studies that verified these observations, school district leaders in Milwaukee, Baltimore, and Philadelphia…