High-poverty schools need more resources and teaching specialists--not more blame and stigma. Bruce Hansen taught in schools labeled "bad" and schools labeled "good." Those experiences have caused him to reflect on the stark inequities between schools with different socioeconomic statuses and the harmful effects of such labels…

A high-poverty, previously low-performing elementary school in Maine shifted its from looking mainly at achievement and test scores to focusing on ways to create motivated, confident, engaged students. They created Rise and Shine, through which all 3rd-5th graders start each day with a fun, challenging activity chosen from a big menu--from…

The impact of accountability on U.S. schools, for good or ill, is a subject of debate and research. The authors recently studied an aspect of accountability that had previously received little attention. They asked, do accountability reforms affect public schools' ability to retain their teachers? By analyzing data from the Schools and Staffing…

Of all the challenges we face in education today, the author can think of none greater than the challenge of motivating, educating, and empowering black male learners. The fact that this group of students is in crisis is evident on multiple levels, starting with graduation rates. According to the Schott Foundation (2008), the U.S. high school…

In this article, the authors discuss the following approaches which principals have found support strong learning communities: (1) Emphasize to teachers that you know they can succeed--together; (2) Expect teachers to keep knowledge fresh; (3) Guide communities toward self-governance; (4) Make data accessible; (5) Teach discussion and…

A low-performing California school district experienced a dramatic turnaround when faculty members began studying student assessment data and working together to ensure students had the support they needed. Sanger Unified School District began its reform journey in 2004 when district leaders launched an effort to focus deliberately on student…

The "elephant in the room" when we talk about preparing critical thinkers for the 21st century, Gallagher believes, is U.S. students' lack of reading proficiency and their general disinclination to read. Gallagher's provocative argument is that a significant factor behind the decline of reading in young people is a set of practices…

Closing or substantially narrowing achievement gaps requires combining school improvement with reforms to narrow the vast socioeconomic inequalities in the United States. Recognizing the effects of socioeconomic disparities on student learning is not "making excuses" for poor instruction or "letting schools off the hook" for raising student…

Research shows that the basic right to equal school education has become a reality since 1956, but has not led to equal achievement. Some of the factors responsible for low achievement levels are low birth weight, frequent changing of schools and class size.

Conversation with Donna Ogle, past-president of the International Reading Association, about content-area reading issues and strategies for low-achieving students. (PKP)

The Reading Recovery intervention program includes procedures for teaching children, recommended materials, a staff development program led by a teacher leader, and a set of interdependent administrative systems. The process involves familiar rereading, a running record analysis, writing a message, putting together a cut-up sentence, and reading a…

A Maryland school system developed a program called "Students Achieving Independent Learning" (SAIL) to help low-achieving students learn how to read. SAIL helps students become successful readers by showing them steps they can take throughout the reading process to increase their understanding. (13 references) (MLF)

Anderson Elementary, a preK-6 school founded in 1886, was dubbed "In Need of Improvement" in 2002 after failing for three years in a row to make adequate yearly progress required under the No Child Left Behind Act. Anderson Elementary, to raise fallen achievement scores, pressed every school professional into the service of student…

To solve the problems of low achieving students, it is important to change the quality of teaching instruction. Cognitive instruction is presented as a critical component for this large scale-change. Includes extensive references. (MD)

Landsman and Gorski decry what they see as the narrowing of curriculum, overemphasis on test scores, and overstandardization of curriculum in ways that undercut teaching critical thinking. They believe these trends stem from five myths that policymakers and teachers alike buy into: that curriculum enrichments are "frills"; that all…