This book introduces journal-writing prompts in mathematics for grades 5-6. Content prompts, attitudinal or affective prompts, and process prompts are presented. Each of the content prompts relates or connects topics within and outside of mathematics, targeting important or meaningful concepts and skills. The content prompts also provide…

This book introduces journal-writing prompts in mathematics for grades 7-8. Content prompts, attitudinal or affective prompts, and process prompts are presented. Each of the content prompts relates or connects topics within and outside of mathematics, targeting important or meaningful concepts and skills. The content prompts also provide…

Several studies have examined the effects of music instruction on children's abilities in other disciplines. Other studies have explored the effects of listening to music on adults' spatial abilities. Noting that these two sets of findings have been confused, leading to claims that listening to music can improve children's academic abilities, this…

Effective parental involvement extends itself beyond the classroom and into the home by providing academic support. Indeed, parents must be committed to strengthening the partnership between the home and Mississippi's schools. This curriculum guide, with a clear, easy-to-follow design, is intended as a resource guide to help parents understand the…

In 1999, Colorado's Denver Public schools initiated the Pay for Performance pilot, which links teacher compensation to student achievement. Researchers examined its impact on achievement by comparing three measures of student achievement across pilot and control schools; teacher objectives; school, teacher, and student factors which impact…

For several decades, the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) held the preeminent role in measuring student and school performance in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), Illinois. In the context of the No Child Left Behind act and new calls for accountability, the CPS has decided to include results from the Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT) in…

This report describes the implementation of portfolio assessment in order for students and parents to become more aware of students' academic growth in writing for first/second grade students and math for seventh grade students. The targeted population consisted of elementary and middle school students in two middle class communities, located in…

In response to the greatly increased use of statewide high stakes testing, the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented at the University of Virginia developed differentiated authentic assessments for middle school classroom use that embodied key concepts, principles, generalizations, and processes in the disciplines of English/language…

This book explores the concept of using everyday objects as a process initiated both by students and teachers, encouraging growth in student observation, inquisitiveness, and reflection in learning. After "Introduction: Welcome to Inquiry-Based Learning using Everyday Objects (Object-Based Inquiry), there are nine chapters in two parts. Part 1,…

To test whether differences in academic performance exist between public and private schools, this report analyzes the mathematics scores from the 1996 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) taken by African American fourth and eighth graders in the District of Columbia's public and private schools. The typical, or average, African…

In 1998, the Institution-Wide Reform project at the University of Hartford (Connecticut) was evaluated. The main focus of the project was the improvement of teaching and learning in the science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET) disciplines for freshmen. Documentation from various sources indicated that the program accomplished its…

Classroom assessment events were studied by investigating students' perceptions of task, self-efficacy, effort, and goal orientations and achievement levels in third-grade language arts and fifth-grade mathematics and social studies. Whether student descriptions differ from one assessment event to the next was also studied. Subjects were students…

In 1996, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) began an initiative aimed at ending social promotion and raising achievement. The centerpiece of the initiative is a set of test-score cutoffs for third, sixth, and eighth graders, who must achieve a minimum score on standardized reading and mathematics tests to be promoted to the next grade. Students who…

This publication presents essays that offer exemplary teaching practices and theoretical discussions concerning critical thinking. Covering a wide range of topics, the essays include a varied selection of readings that contemplate how teaching can become a powerful experience for both educators and students. The essays focus on classroom learning…

This document discusses the development and implementation of alternative performance indicators (APIs) to assess the educational progress of children with disabilities in Wisconsin toward model academic content standards. It begins by describing the alternate assessment process, the definition of APIs, and the process of developing APIs.…