Guided by the theory of differentiated instruction, this quantitative study evaluated the effectiveness of Achieve 3000, a technology-enhanced program for differentiating reading instruction. Achieve 3000 was fully implemented with fidelity in a local middle school that has a large percentage of advanced learners. Archived reading scores of 120…

This paper reports the outcomes of an experimental evaluation of "Direct Instruction Spoken English" ("DISE"), an English language curriculum that focuses on developing English speaking, listening, and comprehension skills in English Learners (ELs). Twenty-nine middle schools in three states were randomly assigned to teach…

This paper reports the outcomes of an experimental evaluation of "Direct Instruction Spoken English (DISE)," an English language curriculum that focuses on developing English speaking, listening, and comprehension skills in English Learners (ELs). Twenty-nine middle schools in three states were randomly assigned to teach "DISE"…

This longitudinal study examined the development of reading motivation, engagement, and achievement in early adolescence by comparing interrelations of these variables in struggling and advanced readers. Participants were 183 pairs of seventh grade students matched in gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and school attended. They completed…

This study investigated the content, realism, stability, and coherence of the career aspirations of 262 students in seventh grade in Switzerland (ages 13-15 years). The content analysis revealed that 82% of the participants named at least one realistic career aspiration, and aspirations showed clear resemblance to existing opportunities in the…

This study investigates the predictive validity of students' levels of critical thinking disposition, as measured by the California Measure of Mental Motivation (CM3; Giancarlo, Blohm, & Urdan, 2004) for students' math achievement, as measured by the Mathematics assessment included in the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). The CM3…

The purpose of this study is to examine the contribution of gender to the academic self-perceptions of ability and related coursework plans for high school and college across academically advanced students. Participants were academically advanced students (N = 447) from grades 5 to 12. Findings revealed that (a) girls' self-perceptions of ability…

This study characterizes how learning and teaching differs as the responsibility for choosing curriculum goals and the strategies to reach those goals shifts between teacher and the students. Three different pedagogical approaches were used with 125 seventh-grade and eighth-grade students. All three curricula focus on electromagnetism, and were…

This article describes the initial development and psychometric evaluation of an ins trument for use with secondary students to measure various perceptions about class activities. The instrument--Student Perceptions of Classroom Quality (SPOCQ)--focuses on meaningfulness, challenge, choice, self-efficacy, and appeal, constructs central to learning…