In Texas, fifth grade students are required to pass both the reading and math sections of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, or TAKS test, in order to be promoted to the next grade level. The purpose of this study is to describe parents' perceptions of the influence of the high-stakes TAKS test on the family lives of at-risk fifth grade…

"Motivating Literacy Learners in Today's World" provides insights into a broad spectrum of children's literacy learning. Motivation is the key theme and the authors show how this can be achieved through reading for pleasure; in writing activities at a number of levels; and through oral language development. Chapters include: (1)…

Much research on requests has been carried out among L1 Chinese adults, L1 Chinese children, L1 children, L2 adults, and L2 children, but no studies to date have simultaneously examined Chinese children's requests in Chinese (L1) and English (L2). The aim of this study is to investigate how Taiwanese elementary school children vary requests…

Hawaii showed improvement in reading and math in grade 8 at the basic, proficient, and advanced levels for Asian and white students, low income students, and boys and girls. Gains in math tended to be larger than in reading. Trends in closing achievement gaps were mixed. Comparable data were available from 2007 through 2009. (Contains 9 tables.)…

In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Louisiana showed mostly gains in reading at the basic and proficient levels for racial/ethnic subgroups, low income students, and boys and girls. There were slight declines at the advanced level in reading for some subgroups. In math, there were gains across…

This paper profiles the student subgroup achievement and gap trends in Idaho for 2010. Idaho showed improvement in reading and math in grade 8 at the basic, proficient, and advanced levels for Latino and white students, low income students, and boys and girls. The state has also made progress in narrowing achievement gaps between Latino and white…

This paper profiles the student subgroup achievement and gap trends in Kentucky for 2010. In grade 8 (the only grade in which subgroup trends were analyzed by achievement level), Kentucky showed mostly gains in both reading and math at the basic, proficient, and advanced levels for racial/ethnic subgroups, low income students, and boys and girls.…

The Open Society Institute and the Foundation to Promote Open Society funded three research organizations from the National Neighborhood Indicator Partnership (NNIP) to explore how foreclosures have affected children in individual cities. This brief focuses on the foreclosure trends and impact on children living in Washington, D.C., between 2003…

The purpose of this study was to examine Korean Americans' perceptions of disabilities. Participants were 147 Korean Americans, male and female, between the ages of 18 and 70. Participants were recruited from Korean churches and educational organizations such as schools and local universities in California. Results showed conflicting perceptions…

This article compares Chinese students' responses to local Chinese versus American professors, and the effectiveness of the professors' respective teaching techniques. A case study made at a single university in China, which had a joint academic program with the United States, found that Chinese students preferred local Chinese professors to…

This article discusses the initiatives of Purdue University President France Cordova in boosting minority and female representation among administration and students and in improving overall undergraduate performance. Dr. France Cordova is by no means the first college president to declare increasing the presence of women and minorities on campus…

The present study examined consistency and inconsistency in adolescents' ethnic identification (i.e., self-reported ethnicity) across the 6 middle-school semesters. The sample (N = 1,589, of whom 46% were boys and 54% were girls) included African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Caucasian/White, Latino/Latina, Mexican/Mexican American, and…

Ethnomethodology frames "culture" as enactments by participants that need to be studied in specific moments of interaction. The key research question is how people display in their talk particular understandings of culture with and for each other. In this paper we explore the way cultural categories are deployed by teachers and parents (of Chinese…

On March 1-2, 2008, FPRI's Wachman Center presented a weekend of discussion on "China's Encounter with the West" for 45 teachers from 21 states across the country, held at and co-sponsored by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Asia Program. Sessions included: (1) China's Early Encounters with the West: A History in Reverse…

Using a data set (N = 1,600) collected in the city of Urumchi in 2005, this article examines ethnic differences in arranged marriages in urban China. Data analysis shows a rapid decline in parental arrangement for both Uyghur Muslims and Han Chinese in Urumchi. Han Chinese are less likely than Uyghur Muslims to report arranged marriages, with main…