This article is a commentary of a paper by Derek C. Briggs and Frederick A. Peck, "Using Learning Progressions to Design Vertical Scales That Support Coherent Inferences about Student Growth," which describes an elegant potential framework for at least beginning to address three priorities in large-scale assessment that have not been…

The authors stand by this prediction: Within five years "every" child in "every" grade in "every" K-12 classroom in America will be using a mobile learning device (MLD), 24/7. And a corollary already being seen in MLD-using classrooms: Student achievement will increase "significantly", since time-on-task…

Through focused observations of teaching practices in 15 classrooms representing 2,475 minutes, a number of instructional patterns were revealed. The majority of time students spend in high school requires that they listen or wait. Students are engaged in authentic reading, writing, and peer work for only a small fraction of the day. If high…

Under federal regulations, school districts that have been identified for improvement or corrective action are not eligible to be supplemental educational service providers. However, the U.S. Department of Education granted waivers to five such districts, on a pilot basis, to allow those districts to provide supplemental educational services. Two…

Reviews studies of school time and learning and asserts that there is considerable variation in how existing time is used and that inconsistent effects for time are often found. Argues, therefore, that increasing the school term will not necessarily increase student achievement. (KH)

A turnaround school in Mission, Texas proves poverty and underachievement are not synonymous. The 1998 passing rate on state assessments was 90.7 percent, compared to 41.2 percent in 1993. Factors include committed faculty, a strong principal, extended reading practice and instructional time, incentives and recognition, and pre-assessment…

This descriptive study investigates the variability in the curriculum pacing decisions of classroom teachers. The effects on the reading achievement and performance gains of first and second grade students in a compensatory education program program are examined. Data were collected from: (1) the Metropolitan Readiness Test results used to select…