The public image of adolescents tends to be very negative, and there is a disconnect between adults and youth. However, numerous examples of what is right with today's youth exist. Many communities are formally or informally involved in youth initiatives. Stresses the importance of adult involvement in adolescents' lives, noting social norms about…

Asserts that many children of immigrants are growing up under severely disadvantaged conditions. Poor schools, tough neighborhoods, and lack of role models related to parental poverty make it difficult for these children to achieve academically. Assimilation under these conditions leads to poverty and permanent disadvantage. Asserts that family…

Reviews the College Board's report, "Reaching the Top," which addresses educational underrepresentation of high-achieving minority students, discussing the debate over race-based affirmative action and concluding that the integrity of American education is best served by programs and teachers eager to assist promising or disadvantaged…

Asserts that vouchers are not the solution to public school problems, calling vouchers political and economic schemes for creating a market system of schools that would effectively reinforce separate and unequal school systems. Notes that no evidence supports the superiority of vouchers or private schools, though evidence demonstrates substantial…

Findings from an investigation into the effectiveness of an explicit training model on low socioeconomic (SES) four- and five-year-old's (N=26) ability to solve geometric analogy problems suggest that higher level cognitive skills of low SES preschoolers can be enhanced through instruction. (IAH)

While forging a political and social consensus to support existing compensatory education efforts, supporters have exhausted any notion of whom they mean to help, what their problems are, how to determine success, or how best to help. This article redefines high risk youth, dispels some common misconceptions about low-achievers, and outlines…

Puerto Ricans are among the poorest and least well educated of Hispanic Americans and continue to drop out of school at a high rate. Recommends peer counseling programs, because there are few Puerto Rican teachers or other professionals to serve as role models. (DM)

Asserts that many composition instructors design courses around theories driven by two narratives of progress: solitary struggle; or earning placement by the dominant social order through passivity. Argues that these approaches are counterproductive and alienate the underclass, ensuring high failure rates at urban colleges and sending students…

Reviews research and thinking on the causes of the disproportionate involvement of black male youths in interpersonal violence and violent activities, and examines societal and community responses to this problem. Programs aimed at preventing or reducing black male youth violence are critiqued. (SLD)

Explores the interpretation of experiences and world views of young people in deprived inner-city neighborhoods. Findings from six focus groups made up of 44 adolescents suggest the combination of mainstream and ghetto-specific norms in the interpretations these young people give to their environment and the ways in which experiences shape their…

The reliability and validity properties of the Brigance K&1 screen were examined with a sample of 134 Head Start children preparing to enter kindergarten. Prediction/outcome analyses, intended to explore the test's accuracy in predicting special-education status at the end of preschool, indicated a relatively high false negative rate and a…

Examined the extent to which schools that received Title I funds for schoolwide programs implemented the plans they developed when requesting funds. Results from 10 urban elementary schools show that schools implemented some plan components but did not generally implement instructional innovations included in the plans. (SLD)

Reports on the process of selecting the first 4,000 beneficiaries of the Gates Millennium Scholars Program, which emphasizes the use of criteria other than grades and test scores to select scholarship recipients. Notes critics' views and the administrative feat of building the organization from scratch, publicizing the program in minority…

Describes and critiques the dominant understanding of poverty in the United States as reflected in its most common measure, the federal poverty line, commenting on the politics of poverty measurement and considering the implications of a revised measure of poverty for thinking about poor children and their education in this nation's schools. (SM)

Reports the impressions of 20 preservice and inservice teachers as they experienced the "ABC's of Cultural Understanding and Communication" model, a program to promote cultural sensitivity among teachers. Insights these teachers gained are discussed. (SLD)