Despite increasing emphasis on preparing more and better teachers and despite the near universal presence of student teaching across teacher education programs (TEPs), numerous questions about what and how student teaching experiences contribute to preservice teachers' development remain unanswered. Indeed, much of the attention focused on student…

The efforts of a large urban school district to apply research findings on effective elementary schools to improve the reading achievement of its low-income junior high school students were studied. The research objective was to create an ethnographic account of change. At the school district studied, the Comprehensive Reading/Language Arts…

This article describes two major issues of national significance in New Zealand: remediation of reading problems in young children and solution of the problem of meeting educational needs of urban minority groups, particularly students from urban Polynesian communities. (BW)

This report evaluates the Urban University Program (UUP), designed to improve urban outreach activities at eight Ohio Universities: Cleveland State University, Kent State University, Ohio State University, University of Akron, University of Cincinnati, University of Toledo, Wright State University, and Youngstown State University. The UUP provides…

Nearly forty monographs, papers and journal articles are abstracted in this review of recent literature on instructionally effective schooling. The works, most of them published since the mid-1970s, focus on various aspects of urban, minority, and compensatory education, as well as on more general issues in elementary and secondary educational…

This report develops a topology of approaches to high school dropout prevention, and uses it to examine and review the effectiveness of existing programs, and to identify major gaps in current practice and research. Research on dropouts was reviewed to identify the kinds of students who drop out and their reasons for dropping out. Based on this…

This paper discusses comprehensive school reform (CSR), which accepts the importance of standards and accountability but adds to these strategies for introducing innovations in curriculum, instruction, school organization, governance, parent interactions, and other core features of practice. The paper reviews research on the nature and quality of…

This paper summarizes data from evaluations of community school initiatives. Section 1 describes community schools, discusses the nature and limitations of existing research on effectiveness, and summarizes findings from 49 community school initiatives. This section also includes three examples of evaluations. All of the reports present findings…

Increasing concern about the overall quality of America's schools has altered federal and state education policy priorities. This shift has resulted in a reduction of federal support, an increase in state-level initiatives, and development of new policies aimed more toward improving the education system generally than toward solving the problems…

This report presents the evaluation results of the Queens Tri-School Confederation magnet programs in New York City: programs designed to reduce minority-group isolation among high school students in three high schools and simultaneously improve the quality of their education through the sharing of resources and expertise. These programs, which…

Families in urban areas struggle with drug abuse, poverty, increasing housing costs, and lack of affordable child care. The challenges confronting urban schools include a higher dropout rate, higher youth unemployment, and the need to address a variety of special needs of their student population, such as programs for pregnant students, dropouts,…

This two-part document describes the background and development of "Role Models Are Real People," a speakers' program for at-risk American Indian students, grades 6-8, in Chicago. The first part of the document includes the program proposal, outlining dropout statistics and other data showing reason for concern about American Indian…

This report presents evaluative information concerning Project Math and Science, a New York City program that provided instruction in English as a second language (ESL), native language arts (NLA), and bilingual instruction in the content areas of mathematics and science. The project also provided teachers of participating students (630 mostly…

This report evaluates Project Data-Tech, a New York City program that served 125 Haitian- and Spanish-speaking students of limited English proficiency and that was designed to improve the educational attainment of these minority children. Participating students received instruction in English as a second language; native language arts (NLA); the…

This report provides evaluative information regarding the effectiveness of Project Aprendizaje, a New York City program that served 269 Spanish-speaking students of limited English proficiency (LEP). The project promoted parent and community involvement by sponsoring cultural events, such as a large Latin American festival. Students developed…