School-wide behavior management systems can improve academic performance and behavior in middle schools, and they should have positive effects on students with ADHD. Unfortunately, evidence-based, school-wide behavior management systems have not been widely adopted because of problems with feasibility, acceptability, and sustainability. The…

Accountability is perhaps the most significant issue facing educators today. How can school professionals document that their work results in significant positive outcomes? This issue is especially critical to the many special and general educators moving into collaborative partnerships, given the dramatic shifts in their professional roles…

This digest debunks myths about developmentally appropriate programs (DAPs) and discusses essential characteristics of developmentally appropriate practices. Common myths or erroneous assumptions about DAPs assume that: (1) there is only one right way to implement a DAP; (2) DAPs are unstructured, and practitioners offer minimal guidance to the…

A 3-D contingent scaffolding model of a hypermedia system is proposed which gradually weans learners off the technical support of instructors or more knowledgeable peers as they master certain skills. The model permits the instructor to vary his or her support in response to the learner's performance in a learning task consisting of a sequence of…

School Development Plans (SDPs) were pioneered by individual schools and local education authorities (LEAs) in England as a grassroots approach to school management that was eventually adopted by national education authorities. An empirical investigation of the implementation and impact of SDPs was carried out in primary schools through a…

This guide is the second in a series of guidelines designed to be a framework for positive action at the school site and in the classroom through the High Schools That Work (HSTW) program, an effort to raise the achievement of career-bound students. It focuses on site-tested ways to organize new teams and rejuvenate existing teams. It recommends a…

This paper describes the COILS (Co-taught Integrated Learning System) program at Boyne City (Michigan) High School. The program utilizes the sequentially based computer programs of the Integrated Learning System (ILS) as well as the co-teaching model to integrate special education students into regular classes in the areas of English, Applied…

This descriptive study used qualitative methods to examine academic and affective components in two primary level multi-aged classrooms at a special school for gifted children. The study methodology included classroom observation, a parent questionnaire, parent interviews, a student questionnaire, student interviews, and teacher interviews. The…

Many critics of American education see technology as an important tool in bringing about the kind of revolutionary changes called for in new reform efforts. Consequently, support for the use of technology to promote fundamental reform appears to be reaching a new high. Following an introduction describing elements of school reform, Chapter 2…

This paper describes the processes that one school district, the Visalia Unified School District (California), went through in establishing a standards-based assessment and accountability system using multiple methods. First the district's standards-based assessment and accountability system and the methods used to establish it are described, and…

Services for immigrant students in the Houston Independent School District (Texas) are provided under provisions of the Emergency Immigrant Education Assistance Act. The implementation of these services was evaluated for the 1996-97 school year. A total of 20,558 eligible immigrant students were identified in the school district's database for…

The Regular Class Participation System (RCPS) project attempted to develop, implement, and validate a system for placing and maintaining students with severe disabilities in general education classrooms, with a particular emphasis on achieving both social and learning outcomes for students. A teacher-based planning strategy was developed and…

Authentic performance assessments--when used simultaneously with matching curricular practices--are a promising development for practitioners and students alike. A major benefit for practitioners appears to be the opportunity to redefine the curriculum and guide instruction. Benefits for students include the opportunity to engage in authentic work…

Project CHAMP provides instruction in English as a second language (ESL), native language arts, and content-area instruction in mathematics, science, and social studies to Chinese students of limited English proficiency (LEP) in three New York City high schools: Seward Park, Washington Irving, and Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1983-84, the first year…

Since 1975 the Contoocook Valley District, a small rural cooperative school district in southwestern New Hampshire, has developed a performance-based student competency program which has resulted in a dramatic increase in scores on the Stanford Achievement Test. The district is comprised of 9 towns, covers an area of almost 300 square miles, and…