Closing the achievement gap between low- and high-achieving public school students is an important goal of public education. This article explores background information and research and discusses examples of best practices to close the achievement gap. Several plans have been proposed as ways to enhance the achievement of under-represented…

The LOGO Project, funded by the Texas Education Agency, is designed to not only increase participants' knowledge of technology to teach mathematics but to enhance their self-efficacy and self-determination, or the beliefs that individuals have about their ability to succeed and their motivation for involvement in the task, as well. The purpose of…

This paper details the motivation, background, and analysis for studying the effect that an Increasing Achievement on Algebra Assessment (IAAA) workshop for a group of Florida high school teachers had on student performance in state-wide testing. The main focus of the workshop was to provide participating teachers with both instruction and…

This paper reports on a case study of a "lead literacy teacher" initiative in one Canadian province. This initiative is related to a ''minority world'' trend in teacher in-service that seeks to develop "experts" in a field with the intent that such experts can help other teachers to raise student achievement for the betterment…

"Informed math self-placement," a program implemented at American River College in Sacramento, California, to determine students' readiness for college-level math, has been in place for three years. This case study describes the development and implementation of math self-placement at American River. Math self-placement consists of a…

This paper describes the University of Utah's recently revised Ed.D. program and reports the results of several program-evaluation efforts conducted since its implementation. In particular, the most recent evaluation assessed the effectiveness of the field-based doctoral program in educational administration in linking theory and research to the…

A practicum was designed to increase participation of families in home-school literacy activities. The school was located in a suburban village in the northeastern United States. Data indicated that many families of first- and second-grade minority students who were bused to the school for integration purposes were not participating in home-school…

Since neither the provision of contraception, nor exhortations to preserve premarital chastity serve the adolescent's need to integrate their now-present biological capacity to procreate into their operational self concept, this study utilized experiential learning about fertility to facilitate the integration of biologic maturity with adolescent…

A case study across 2 different elementary education settings examined (1) how well portfolios document literacy learning that is both authentic and aligned with curriculum; (2) teachers' ability to interpret and evaluate portfolio evidence from more than one site; and (3) what teachers learn about literacy instruction and assessment as a result…

This paper presents an overview of literature and research on the effective preparation of school leaders. Recent research has called for greater collaboration among stakeholders and effective internships. Another way to deliver performance-based preparation is through the use of assessment centers, a validated process for measuring an aspiring…

The four reports contained in this document cover the first phase of the Apprenticeship Training Materials Clearinghouse project, which is being conducted at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon. The interim evaluation report assesses phase 1 of the project by listing a series of 17 bechmark questions and providing answers to each. Attached to…

These four evaluation updates cover the second phase of the apprenticeship training materials clearinghouse project, which is being conducted at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon. The first update evaluates project activities related to field-testing the clearinghouse services, analyzing the field test results, and developing mailing lists…

This action research project designed and implemented a program for the instruction of cooperative learning and conflict resolution strategies in order to increase social competencies. The targeted population consisted of two multi-age, grade 2/3 classrooms and one fifth grade classroom in a stable middle class community in a large midwestern…

In response to public concern, the Utah Comprehensive Guidance Program Model was developed with guidance as a full-fledged education program. Adoption of the model in middle/junior high schools and high schools, and the relationship of training in the model and state funding are discussed in the "Introduction." The situation prior to…

While school-based management (SBM) is increasingly becoming a part of state and district reform efforts, there is little evidence that it improves school performance. However, this may be an unrealistic expectation for a governance-oriented reform. SBM also can improve organizational performance not only when people at lower levels are brought…