New York University studied the impact of increases in instructional group size in resource rooms and speech service in the New York City Public Schools by examining increases in 45 public elementary, middle, and senior high schools. Questionnaires were distributed to parents, and teachers and administrators were interviewed. Observations of…

Over the past 15 years a body of research has investigated organizational transitions in adolescent development. Researchers studying school transitions exclusively ask whether significant transition affects students' social and psychological development. To test the presence of transition effects, researchers have typically observed mean…

This collection presents the work of four psychologists who use scientific inquiry to understand what helps and what hinders the academic and life performance of minority students and girls. The first selection, "School Desegregation 40 Years After 'Brown v. Board of Education': Looking Forward and Looking Backward" by Janet Ward Schofield,…

A Technowalk is a walk through the community to explore the technology found there, looking for common materials or particular kinds of structures. Technowalks involve the investigating, designing, testing, trouble-shooting, and problem-solving that the technological process provides. This book provides suggestions for 10 Technowalk activities for…

The Hartford Public Schools (Connecticut) received a Comprehensive Partnerships for Minority Student Achievement (CPMSA) grant from the National Science Foundation. In the first year of the grant, four schools (two elementary, one middle, and one high school) were identified for CPMSA activities. The CPMSA goal was to develop systemic approaches…

This paper discusses the efforts of the Department of Mathematics at the United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) to determine the degree to which their courses support the published academic outcomes of the institution, and presents the results of a survey of student attitudes toward the academic outcomes. A survey questionnaire was developed…

This summary report of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1996 State Assessment Program in Science and Mathematics provides comparisons of average mathematics scale scores for Grades 4 and Grade 8 in public schools and comparisons of average science scale scores for Grade 8 in participating jurisdictions. Data is presented in a…

In 1991, Ohio received funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a Statewide Systemic Initiative called Discovery to reform science and mathematics education. Funding since that year has included a grant to identify barriers to science and mathematics education reform, particularly barriers such as community and school resources,…

Although policy makers have expressed interest in expenditures by private elementary and secondary schools, nationally representative data in this area are not available. In the absence of expenditure data it may nevertheless be possible to derive national estimates of total expenditures by private schools indirectly, by using the information that…

This study attempted to control differences in achievement when examining omitting tendencies of examinees. Test data of randomly sampled examinees (7 samples of 2,000 examinees each) from one national administration of the ACT Assessment were used. The number of responses omitted per examinee was examined over all examinees and over only those…

This report examines the current state of research on the achievement outcomes of Success For All, a program built around the idea that every child can and must succeed in the early grades, no matter what this takes. Success For All uses everything known about effective instruction for students at risk to direct all aspects of schooling and…

This paper reviews the data collection procedures and results from direct observations, interviews, and surveys that are part of the documentation from the District of Columbia Public Schools' (DCPS) effort at ongoing systemic change effort. Using qualitative and quantitative techniques, several professional development activities were examined by…

These papers examine the sociocultural approach to curriculum design, which provides minority and working class students with the same privileges that middle class students have (instruction that puts their knowledge and experiences at the heart of learning). It presents the theoretical framework for linking students' lives with curriculum and…

This book is designed for overextended librarians and for those who are looking for fresh approaches to what they have been doing for years. The intent in the book is to incorporate traditional techniques, such as storytelling and puppetry, with the use of technology, particularly the Internet--many different learning styles are incorporated to…

This issue of ENC Focus is organized around the theme of educational change. It intends to provide teachers with practical resources and suggestions for implementing reform ideas in the classrooms. Featured articles include: (1) "There Can Be No Improvement Without the Teacher" (Michael Fullan and Andy Hargreaves); (2) "Changing…