The Department is pleased to submit this "Report to the Legislature: Academic Support Programs," pursuant to Chapter 61 of the Acts of 2007, line-item 7061-9404. This report provides information regarding Fiscal Year 2008 Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) support for the Classes of 2003-2012 funded through these…

Accelerated middle schools are self-contained academic programs designed to help middle school students who are behind grade level catch up with their age peers. If these students begin high school with other students their age, the hope is that they will be more likely to stay in school and graduate. The programs serve students who are one to two…

Cognition in schizophrenia seems to be characterized by impaired performance on most tests of explicit or declarative learning contrasting with relatively intact performance on most tests of implicit or procedural learning. At the same time there have been conflicting results for studies that have used the Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task to…

The purpose of this article is to describe a general procedure for implementing group poster projects in lower and upper division mathematics courses. The authors have found that students who complete projects gain a deeper understanding of the mathematics they study, refine their ability to communicate mathematically, and engage in an activity…

Practitioners and teachers should be able to justify their chosen techniques by taking into account research results: This is evidence-based practice (EBP). We argue that, specifically, statistical practice and statistics education should be guided by evidence, and we propose statistical cognition (SC) as an integration of theory, research, and…

This research investigates teenagers' perceptions of spirituality. The author considers how far teenage ideas mirrored the many academic theories of spirituality-in-education that have influenced policy makers. Comparisons are made particularly with the theories of four scholars who have dominated the debate over the last twenty years: Jack…

The present article reviews reminiscence research with regard to people with intellectual disabilities. Although the term "reminiscence" is not often used in intellectual disability research, the concept offers a useful framework for charting the different approaches in literature, thanks to its multidisciplinary character and eclectic theoretical…

The School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) is a national survey periodically conducted to assess school health policies and programs at the state, district, school, and classroom levels. This brief reports study results in the area of injury prevention and safety, covering the following topics: (1) Health Education; (2) Health Services…

This paper discusses a report released by the Education Department's Office of Inspector General regarding problems in the administration of the government's Reading First Program. Reading First is a $900-million-a-year program that was designed to improve reading instruction in low-income schools in kindergarten through third grade. According to…

In this article, the author shares her accomplishments as the 2006-2007 president of the American Association of School Librarians. Many of her accomplishments help fulfill the goals, objectives, and strategies of the AASL strategic plan. These include the sold-out AASL National Institute on assessment, new innovative reading grants, and its…

This article reports the substance of an interview with Grady R. Hazel, Executive Director of the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants (CPAs). Hazel has been director of the Society of Louisiana CPAs since 1995. The 6,500-member organization is headquartered in Kenner, a suburb of New Orleans. A native of Baton Rouge, Hazel has been…

This report is an account of the North American Regional Seminar on Environmental Education that was held in St. Louis, Missouri from October 5-8, 1976. The idea for this seminar was developed at the Unesco/UNEP Workshop held in Belgrade in October, 1975. The seminar report details the extensive data gathering and planning efforts, the Seminar…

The proceedings of a conference on occupational stress are contained in this report. Presentation titles include the following: "Basic Concepts of Organizational Stress--Causes and Problems,""Occupational Sources of Stress: A Review of the Literature Relating to Coronary Heart Disease and Mental Ill Health,""A Review of [National Institute for…

Reported are the results of a review of the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) system of peer review. Recommendations presented include: (1) that a formalized NIH Grants Peer Review Appeals System be established; (2) that NIH periodically announce all upcoming vacancies on review groups; and (3) that review of grant applications should continue…

Presented is the annual report for fiscal year 1975-76 of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), including the annual reports of the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine. Contents include: (1) report of the President; (2) reports on completed studies including food and nutrition, public health, natural resources, space…