This article presents findings from an investigation of the overall effectiveness of Michigan's Freedom to Learn (FTL) One-to-One initiative. The major goal of the FTL initiative was to help students to gain 21st century knowledge and skills while increasing their learning and achievement through the integration of over 20,000 laptop computers…

At the end of secondary education in The Netherlands, students have to pass a final examination, consisting of an internal school-based assessment and an external national assessment. According to the Dutch inspectorate, to ensure the quality of final examinations, the discrepancy between both assessments must be less than 0.5 points (on a scale…

This paper presents the response of the technology teacher education programmes at the University of Limerick to the assessment challenge created by the shift in philosophy of the Irish national curriculum from a craft-based focus to design-driven education. This study observes two first year modules of the undergraduate programmes that focused on…

This study investigates the possibilities of estimating value added as a performance indicator in senior secondary vocational education. Value added is interesting in this context because it is considered as a reliable tool for comparing the effectiveness of educational institutions. Although value added indicators have been developed since the…

The purpose of the study is to determine student views of the influence of the Eco Education Urban Stewards program's impact on their involvement in community environmental initiatives. Eco Education is a non-profit organization in St. Paul that facilitates an urban, environmental, year-long science curriculum delivered in middle schools in…

Teachers and administrators are faced with a basic question when planning for a school year: how should the students be grouped when coming to school? Should students of similar age be together or should students be assigned to multi-age classrooms at the elementary school level? If the multi-age method is chosen, how will academic progress be…

Close to 71% of Latino students enrolled in community colleges declare transfer as their primary goal, but only 7-20% ever transfer to a four-year institution. Research has demonstrated that, when Latino students start at a community college, their chances of earning a bachelor's degree is less than that of students with similar academic…

The research presented in this dissertation utilized both quantitative and qualitative strategies to examine the impact that teacher participation in a targeted home visitation program had on their attitudes, practices, and parent participation within their classrooms. One hundred elementary school teachers were randomly assigned to the treatment…

Past research in the area of college retention shows that social and academic integration are important elements in ensuring high retention rates. Many past studies show that learning communities are beneficial in helping raise retention rates as learning communities effectively increase the rates of social and academic integration. The purpose of…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Georgia's Choice reading curriculum on third grade science scores on the Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Test from 2002 to 2008. In assessing the effectiveness of the Georgia's Choice curriculum model this causal comparative study examined the 105 elementary schools that…

This study examined whether or not students that participated in a school sponsored instrumental music program had higher academic achievement and attendance than students that did not participate in a school sponsor instrumental music program. Units of measurement included standardized test scores and attendance, without taking into consideration…

Social studies at the middle-level represented a marginalized discipline in South Carolina. Although it was integrated into the state's accountability testing agenda and weighted equally with English, math, and science content in state school and district report card rating calculations, differences exist in the amount of time allocated for social…

The study examined the effects of the federally funded Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) program on student performance on mandated standardized tests. The study focused on the mathematics and reading scores of Illinois public elementary and middle and junior high school students. The federal CSR program provided Illinois schools with an annual…

Due to the challenges of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, many schools and school districts are implementing after-school tutoring programs to provide students additional instruction to score proficient or better in reading and mathematics. This doctoral study analyzed the effects of the ABC Middle School Educational Assistance Program…

"The Eight-Step Process" is a continuous improvement model that focuses on collaboration by disaggregating and analyzing data, developing a common instructional calendar, assessing mastery with common formative and summative assessments, building in time daily for interventions and enrichments for each student on the standards being…