Project OCCAMS is an accelerated English language arts curriculum and delivery model for high ability middle school learners. This program was initially developed in a research-practitioner partnership with two universities and a state department of education. Over 6 years, it was implemented in Columbus City Schools, Ohio's largest urban school…

California's Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010 established transitional kindergarten (TK), the first year of a two-year kindergarten program for students affected by the change in the birthdate cutoff for entry into kindergarten from December 2 to September 1. This brief, the sixth in a series highlighting findings from the "Study of…

In 2010, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Kindergarten Readiness Act into law, which changed the kindergarten entry age so that children must turn 5 by September instead of December to enroll. The new grade level was put into place to promote school readiness for California's youngest learners. It also established a new grade…

This report presents the outcomes of the analysis of Grade Level of Achievement (GLA) data at the provincial level to inform the program planning and evaluation needs of Alberta Education as well as school and central office based administrators. GLA data reported to Alberta Education is a teacher's judgment of a student's academic progress. GLA…

This final report contains information on the school-based portion of the Saskatoon Region Project, a program designed to develop effective services for educationally handicapped children in rural areas around Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Canada). Chapters of the report provide descriptions of early initiatives that led to the project's conception,…

This collection of documents describes the Chapter 1 programs of the Newark (Ohio) City Schools and presents a model for programs to increase student success. Newark is a midsized city district with 1 high school, 3 middle schools, and 12 elementary schools, 7 of which receive Chapter 1 services. Collaborative efforts include replacement classes.…

Very few students in the fifth through eighth grades have mastered basic reading/writing/thinking strategies. Improving language arts outcomes is the responsibility of all middle school teachers. The first step is achieving faculty and community consensus on ideal student outcomes in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Implementing language…

Using various approaches to identify English language learners, several Pacific Region jurisdictions are developing English language proficiency standards and assessments aligned with those standards. Others are working on content standards, including language arts, and have expressed interest in developing English language proficiency standards…

Each school district in Texas must develop, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of a five-year plan for improvement for accreditation by the State of Texas. This report summarizes Austin Independent School District's (AISD) success in accomplishing five-year goals and objectives set in 1979-80 in eight areas: language arts; social studies…

The Secondary Curriculum Improvement Program (SCIP) operated at two levels: at the school-site level, schools were encouraged to develop a coherent plan for assisting teachers in the implementation of mastery learning in their classrooms; and at the system-wide level, SCIP focused on staff development activities designed to encourage the use of…

Reviews efforts to develop national content standards for teaching English. Today's standards movements are distinguished from earlier efforts in that the learner is recognized as active, the meaning is socially and historically contingent, and the purpose is the development of language for political power and the creation and appreciation of…