The objective of this study is to assess whether arts-based curriculum facilitates the acquisition of English as a Second Language without sacrificing proficiency in the first language (in this case, Spanish). The paper has two chief parts, one theoretical, the other empirical. In the first part, similarities between authentic arts-based…

Teacher testing-related attitudes and practices were explored in the context of court-ordered achievement testing in a school district engaged in desegregation. Responses to a mail survey (the Teacher Assessment Practices Questionnaire) from 79 teachers (grades 3, 4, and 5) across 13 elementary schools in a midwestern urban district suggest that…

Forms of reasoning and problem solving required of students by innovative assessment projects in science are examined. The initial phase identified activities and school systems where new forms of science assessment were being piloted. The following are general dimensions of performance that were identified: (1) structured, integrated knowledge;…

This study on Basque language learning is part of a project investigating alternative curriculum designs to promote native language maintenance in the Basque Country of Spain. This study measured the level of Basque and Spanish of fifth-graders (n=586 divided among 167 classrooms) in three program models (Basque taught as a second language--Model…

The author conducted a year-long study of his own fifth-grade classroom as a teacher-researcher. The intent was to create a theme study classroom, organizing curriculum around the problems, needs, and interests of students through interdisciplinary investigations of themes. Using action research, implementation processes and constraints were…

The rationale for using critical autobiography projects in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction is discussed, and procedures for implementation are outlined. Writing a critical autobiography involves the student's presenting a personal narrative while exploring external factors influencing his life. Critical experiences in life provide…

The "General Report" and "Executive Summary" provide information about the performance of the public school system of Utah. The Utah Statewide Educational Assessment (USEA) Program began in 1975 and has continued every 3 years through the April 1990 assessment, to be replaced in fall 1990 by a new testing program. The new…

The 1991 Manitoba Health Education Assessment consisted of the grade-4 health education test, a survey of grade-4 teachers, and the comparison of student performance in grades 5 and 10 from 1982 to 1991. The grade-4 sample consisted of 10% of students from English language schools, all students in Franco-Manitoban schools, and 25% of all students…

The effects of Chapter 1 (Education Consolidation and Improvement Act) reading pull-out programs on the reading achievement of participating students was studied for 30 fifth- and sixth-grade students from a Chicago (Illinois) elementary school serving a low socioeconomic neighborhood with a minority enrollment of 99 percent. Fifteen students had…

This curriculum, directed primarily to students in grades five and six, is a 5-week sexuality education program designed to promote sexual abstinence as the best decision young people can make for themselves. The guide is divided into three general areas of emphasis: Knowing Myself, Reltating to Others, and Planning My Future. These sections are…

The Annual Test Report, 1981-82 has been developed as a reference on the results of the California Achievement Tests (CAT) in the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). The report contains several analyses of the results from the CAT administration in Grades 3, 5, 8, and 11. Overall countywide results are presented and they are also broken down…

A third-grade class and fifth-grade remedial reading students gained a positive attitude toward contemporary economic problems by studying economics as a puzzle in this award-winning project. The following concepts were each approached as pieces of the puzzle to be solved: money, wants and needs, income, goods and services, scarcity, consumption…

Designed primarily for sixth grade students, this 2-week learning packet on Alaska can be adapted to grades 5 and 7. Material is divided into three sections. Following a discussion of how and when to introduce this unit, the teacher section contains a brief summary of each of the unit's seven lessons. The student section contains readings and…

The REACH-6 program was a concerted effort by the Houston (Texas) school district to revamp the instructional quality in six of its elementary schools, with the primary purpose of improving the schools' student academic performance. This report describes the academic performance of the students in the REACH-6 program on the TEAMS and MAT-6 tests…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference in attitude toward and achievement in science between boys and girls in grade two (n=129) and in grade five (n=154) and to compare the differences found for elementary school students to those found previously for middle school students. For this study, "attitude toward science" was…