In an effort to standardize academic application procedures, the Standardized Letter of Recommendation (SLR) was developed to capture important cognitive and noncognitive qualities of graduate school candidates. The SLR consists of seven scales ("knowledge," "analytical skills," "communication skills,"…

This volume illuminates the most pressing challenges faced by urban schools, teachers, teacher candidates, and teacher training programs and offers a range of insights and possibilities for urban teacher education and teaching. Covering issues spanning the broadly theoretical to the urgently practical, it goes beyond the traditional discourses in…

Digital tools are increasingly being used to support teaching in higher education. These tools place new demands on the tasks and responsibilities of the teacher, and can influence teacher roles. In this study we investigate the long-term use and development of a tool for facilitating the negotiation of meaning in argumentative student texts,…

The Association of State Assessment Programs, an informal association of state assessment directors, began collecting information about large-scale assessment programs in 1977. This report is a continuation of that effort that is currently conducted by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory and the Council of Chief State School…

Research concerning the effects of television violence on children--particularly young children under the age of six--has found that it tends to desensitize them to aggressive behavior and, in some children, promotes aggressive behavior in their play and other interactions with children and adults. This guide is designed to assist early childhood…

Sharing concerns and interests of New York State educators in the improvement of literacy, this annual journal raises educational issues such as current thoughts about literacy instruction, educators' roles, literacy in its many forms, college-community literacy partnerships, and recommended reading materials. Articles in the journal are "Who…

Noting that more democratic values have begun to replace authoritarian values in the classroom, this book offers teachers three different discipline styles and provides guidance in classroom management, discipline strategy, and flexible problem solving. Chapter 1 of the book addresses general discipline and provides debate on utilizing democratic…

A study examined critical literacy and how texts, transactions, and talk enabled girls to examine their positions as readers and negotiate their identities in relation to novel characters and one another. Participants were eight sixth-grade girls of European American, African American, and Latina backgrounds and the participant researcher, a white…

In Latin America and the Caribbean, poverty is not merely a problem of marginalized communities. It is the situation in which 240 million people--50 percent of the population--are living. This report describes research undertaken by the Quality of Life Project, which aims to improve the situation of children in these disadvantaged communities. The…

This study examined the issue of gender equity among middle school students. Literature of the past 20 years was reviewed, showing that bias in schools still exists. The purposes of the study were to determine if changes in attitudes and behaviors have occurred as a result of gender equitable treatment and to ascertain if exposure to inequitable…

This paper describes the development of a criterion-referenced, performance-based measure of third grade reading comprehension. The primary purpose of the assessment is to contribute unique and valid information for use in the formative evaluation of a whole literacy program. A secondary purpose is to supplement other program efforts to…

This manual offers practical guidelines, based on the work of K. P. Cross (1988) and T. A. Angelo (1991), on implementing a Classroom Assessment Training Project (CATP) at a high school or college. The manual contains information on planning, budgeting, training, and content. The Cross/Angelo Classroom Assessment Model relies on quick, anonymous…

A study examined how some teachers, in a graduate class, experienced literature study and began to explore ways of using it with their pupils. Subjects, 24 graduate students (9 secondary school teachers and 15 elementary teachers) enrolled in a class on the reading/writing connection, were randomly assigned to 6 groups of 4 students each. Each…

Item response theoretic methods are applied to the measurement of achievement of students from various instructional backgrounds. This extended item response theory (IRT) approach serves as a tool for studying instructional bias, or instructional sensitivity. The model maintains the form of an IRT model, but has parameters that quantify the extent…

A guide to help instructors improve or review their questioning skills is presented, with a focus on devising appropriate questions and interpersonal skills that maximize student responses. Questions that entail knowledge, comprehension, and simple application levels are distinguished from questions requiring complex application (e.g., analysis…