A study was conducted concerning the reduced and limited curricula which tests may represent. Observations were made at 18 different elementary and middle school classrooms in four school districts in central Pennsylvania during the language arts instructional period. All of the teachers were involved in promoting a holistic approach to literacy.…

This resource guide is to be used in coordination with a 15-minute video program and contains related activities designed to assist Chapter 1 programs in coordinating instructional services to students so that all Chapter 1 students will be able to achieve success in the program. The emphasis on coordinated instruction is a result of the new…

This document reviews the history of compensatory education programs under the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (Chapter 1), assesses the programs' current status, and speculates on their future paths. Part 1 is a historical review of compensatory education, identifying strategies, programs and services provided, ways it has been…

Reviews the advantages and disadvantages of the use of DISTAR, a highly structured direct instruction program used to teach basic skills to disadvantaged preschool children. (FMW)

Evaluations of compensatory education programs provided under Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) indicate that the traditional provision of a less challenging curriculum, limited achievement goals, and emphasis on pull-out programs for compensatory instruction actually hamper the ability of low-achieving students…

This compendium provides secondary school teachers, administrators, and Chapter 1 directors with descriptions of effective practices in Chapter 1 programs. The focus is on managerial and instructional strategies that promote success for poor and/or educationally disadvantaged students. The compendium is divided into five chapters: an introduction…

This paper discusses the concept of literacy and proposes several theses with regard to the difficulty experienced by youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds in acquiring literacy in present-day school environments. It recommends studies to explore the funding of programs designed to improve schools as educational organizations, rather than…

This study examined and assessed teachers' and students' use of and reactions to the Heartwood Program, a multicultural, literature-based curriculum designed to promote elementary students' ethical understanding of courage, loyalty, justice, respect, hope, honesty, and love. The Pennsylvania Department of Education Division of Federal Programs…

Investigates the relationship between Chapter 1 and regular classroom teachers' estimates of test content coverage (opportunity to learn) and mathematics achievement of 89 fourth graders (65% were African American and 35% were white) in Chapter 1 mathematics instruction. Results indicate the importance of measuring students' opportunity to learn…

Focusing on the change in instructional emphasis from remedial (re-teaching) to developmental (pre-teaching), this paper describes the Chapter 1 reading program in the Wichita (Kansas) Public Schools during the school years 1990-1991 and 1991-1992. This paper includes: diagrams describing the new agenda for an integrated language arts curriculum;…

Using test results to align curriculum was studied in two applications with Chapter 1 programs. Curriculum alignment is the process of coordinating instruction so that a particular curriculum builds on skills students have learned in previous courses while providing skills for future success. In using test results for program improvement,…

This report describes the instruction, assessment, and staff development of the Multicultural Reading and Thinking (McRAT) program and summarizes the results of a one-year study conducted in 1989-90. (McRAT is a nationally recognized staff development program designed to help teachers infuse higher order thinking skills and multicultural concepts…

Arguing that the goal of the development of thinking skills for the low-achieving student is within reach, this paper contends that an effective course on thinking skills should result in a single, well-integrated schema which is built upon the principles and processes that the course is intended to develop and should be elaborated with concrete…

Describes a Coordinators Applying Whole Language (CAWL) group that provides a way for reading coordinators in a number of school districts in a metropolitan area to support each other. Argues that reading supervisors can influence classroom reading and writing instruction among local school districts. (RS)

Two groups of high risk students that deserve more attention from school reformists are: (1) disconnected youth who are alienated from basic American values, economic opportunities, and educational opportunities; and (2) semi-skilled students who are able to succeed in the basic programs assigned to them, but who cannot read, write, or solve…