Middle school transitions can cause a decline in academic achievement and motivation in learning for many students. Low income underrepresented students are especially vulnerable to this transition. Parental involvement also tends to decrease during the middle school years. This qualitative study examined the elementary to middle school transition…

The past eight years have seen an unprecedented level of education policy activity focused on issues of teacher quality. Policies have been developed at federal, state, and institutional levels, and include increased institutional reporting of teacher candidates' test scores, the mandate for Highly Qualified Teachers (HQT) in the No Child Left…

This document is the result of two years of intensive, dedicated work by a remarkable team of nearly two dozen researchers. It takes the first steps on a long overdue journey to fully understanding the realities and promise of ESL program service in community colleges across the nation. The report offers an in-depth look into several community…

In 2005, Governor Tim Pawlenty and the Minnesota Legislature charged the Minnesota Office of Higher Education with developing an accountability system to measure the higher education sector's effectiveness in meeting state goals. Minnesota's leaders recognized that the knowledge, creativity and intellectual capacity of the state's people are the…

The impact of date of birth on cognitive test scores is well documented across many countries, with the youngest children in each academic year performing more poorly, on average, than the older members of their cohort (see, for example, Bedard and Dhuey (2006) or Puhani and Weber (2005)1). However, relatively little is known about the driving…

The goal of this book is to generate discussion not only about how individuals can create meaningful educational experiences for all learners, but to challenge systems that necessitate a resilient nature. Ultimately, the authors promote the need for a foundation of socially just policies and practices in all educational settings and respond to the…

Texas Instruments has undertaken a research program with the goal of producing scientifically-based evidence of the effectiveness of graphing calculators and the "TI-Navigator"[TM] classroom networking system in the context of a professional development and curriculum framework. The program includes a two-year longitudinal study. The…

"Managing School Districts for High Performance" brings together more than twenty case studies and other readings that offer a powerful and transformative approach to advancing and sustaining the work of school improvement. At the center of this work is the concept of organizational coherence: aligning organizational design, human…

"The Opportunity Gap" aims to shift attention from the current overwhelming emphasis on schools in discussions of the achievement gap to more fundamental questions about social and educational opportunity. The achievement gap looms large in the current era of high-stakes testing and accountability. Yet questions persist: Has the…

This What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) topic report addresses reading interventions for students in grades K-3, including core reading curricula, programs, or products to be used as supplements to other reading instruction, programs that focus on staff development, and literacy software. The WWC review on beginning reading focuses on programs…

The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation developed and sponsored the Middle Grades Initiative (MGI), which began in 1989, in five urban school systems: (1) Baltimore (Maryland); (2) Louisville (Kentucky); (3) Milwaukee (Wisconsin); (4) Oakland (California); and (5) San Diego (California). The purpose of MGI was to change the ways schools educate young,…

This handbook for faculty was developed as part of the EASE (Equal Access for Students to Education and Experience) Project at Mesabi Community College in northeastern Minnesota. After an introduction stating the college's commitment to all students including those with disabilities, the guide discusses disabilities in general, and learning…

In a question-and-answer format, the guide responds to common queries about bilingualism in children. The first section poses and answers questions about family issues and bilingualism, including family communication, support of language development, cultural and social context for language development, social integration, and parent language…

A third-party national evaluation of the basic grants section of the Adult Education Act was conducted in September 1990. The study drew on data from the following sources: 1990 mail survey of all federally supported local service providers; longitudinal study of local programs that provided information on the characteristics of more than 22,000…

Despite their vital role in open-access, two-year colleges, remedial education efforts have increasingly come under attack by legislators and the public, who view such programs as duplicating the appropriate function of high schools, and who believe that limited state resources should be devoted to more prestigious programs. For a college to…