Although an understanding of time is crucial in our society, curriculum documents have an undue emphasis on reading time and little emphasis on core underlying ideas. Given this context, a one-to-one assessment interview, based on a new framework, was developed and administered to investigate students' understanding of core ideas undergirding the…

To succeed in today's economy, students need both proficiency in the "three Rs" (reading, writing and arithmetic) and strong applied skills. Communication skills, team work, and critical thinking have long been at the top of employers' lists of applied skills they seek in employees. States are responding to employers' needs by putting in…

Lesson Study is a popular approach to teacher professional development used widely in Japan. It involves a small group of teachers co-planning a series of lessons based on a shared learning goal for the pupils, with one teacher leading the co-constructed lesson and their colleagues invited to observe pupil learning in the lesson. The team then…

In this article, the authors explore using a conference workshop setting to engage mathematics teachers, who serve largely underserved student populations, in culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP). The conference workshop encouraged the exchange of information among teachers of similar grade levels and classroom contexts. The authors' analysis of the…

This report presents the findings from interviews with principals about their schools' participation in the ASSISTments efficacy study on seventh-grade mathematics. The purpose of the interviews was to explore the following areas: To what extent schools had policies or expectations regarding homework practice and completion; To what extent schools…

Although a limited body of research has supported the positive impact of the Tools of the Mind curriculum on the development of self-regulation, research supporting a direct relationship between Tools and academic achievement is extremely limited. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Tools of the Mind curriculum…

Federal policy makers and school leaders increasingly recognize middle school math as a turning point in students' academic success. An i3 scale-up grant allowed grant partners to conduct a large-scale implementation of PowerTeaching (PT), a research-based reform to increase student math achievement. In a mixed-methods study during the pilot phase…

With changing academic standards, more rigorous state assessments, growing diversity among student populations, decreased school funding, and high achievement expectations from the state and federal government, teachers have a very challenging and demanding job. Fully aware of these high expectations from the education community, school leaders…

This dissertation addresses the question of what implications, if any, has implementing NCLB as mandated had on gifted students in one district. The purpose of this study is to determine 1.) How has a district responded to gifted and high-achieving students within the boundaries of post-NCLB curriculum? 2.) How have teachers responded to gifted…

As evidenced by the poor mathematics performance in American schools, specifically in the school district in the current study, providing identical educational opportunities for diverse students does not necessarily increase academic achievement for everyone. Differentiation is an instructional method that has been found to be successful in…

The research study was an evaluation of a professional learning community (PLC) and its effect on teachers and student achievement in a high school serving predominately Latino students. The study was a mixed research study that consisted of both quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data included school-wide and Latino student…

The ultimate goal of this concurrent embedded mixed-method study was to describe the implementation of Response to Intervention (RTI) and understand the role of Response to Intervention at the fourth-grade elementary school level on the academic performance. This study examined both qualitative and quantitative data. In the qualitative phase, a…

Given expectations for higher standards teachers must find ways to improve family involvement and build a community atmosphere within the classroom. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the implementation of a family involvement program into a first grade classroom. Epstein's six types of parent involvement formed the theoretical…

The purpose for this study was to determine the influence on achievement and classification rate into special education of racially, culturally, ethnically, linguistically diverse students following the use of a district-designed response to intervention (RtI) structure by examining local processes that may contribute to student achievement and…

It is the moral responsibility of educators to work diligently to provide every student with rich, challenging coursework in efforts to prepare them for post high school careers and education. The use of common formative assessments provides teachers with the valuable, timely information they need to make instructional decisions that will better…