This study investigates whether friendship quality, academic achievement, and mastery goal orientation predict each other across the transition to middle school. Participants were 146 Latino students (75 girls) followed from the end of elementary school through the first year of middle school. Measures included positive and negative friendship…

Value-added (VA) models measure teacher contributions to student learning and are increasingly employed in educational reform efforts. Using data from 35 seventh-grade teachers and 2,026 students across seven schools, we employ VA methods to measure teacher contributions to students' motivational orientations (mastery and performance achievement…

When Rocketship Education, a pioneering, rapidly expanding charter school network, looked at its results, it could have rested on its laurels. With seven schools in California together ranking as the top public school system for low-income elementary students, Rocketship had proof that its blended-learning model--combining online learning with…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe, measure, compare, and contrast the perceptions of elementary teachers and principals regarding the degree to which the schools in which they are employed have implemented learning organizations conforming to Senge's (1990) 5 disciplines: mental models, personal mastery, shared vision, team…

The majority of college students are not ready for college-level math courses, which, when completed, have been shown to increase graduation and transfer rates. To address this problem, the Math My Way (MMW) program was developed to integrate module-based curriculum and mastery learning approaches. The program is based on Seidman's retention…

The eight schools profiled in this document are serving different populations, but all of them are closing the achievement gap between low-income, minority, and special needs students and their peers. By trying out innovative new strategies, these schools are blazing a trail for others to follow. They are dispelling the myth that some students can…