Schools that become part of the "Making Middle Grades Work" network are expected to use the middle grades comprehensive improvement framework to show progress in changing school and classroom practices in ways that advance student achievement. True school reform is not a quick process. It is a continuous effort to make purposeful and planned…

This report reviews 75 high schools in the "High Schools that Work" (HSTW) network that made statistically significant gains in at least two of three areas reading, mathematics and science--between 2002 and 2004 on the "HSTW" Assessments. In these schools, all groups of students improved achievement--regardless of race, ethnicity or socioeconomic…

There is a general belief that Lebanese-background students in Australia do not usually perform well at school. This study examines the school achievement of Lebanese-background students and the major motivational factors related to their achievement. A total of 271 Year Nine students (117 Lebanese-background and 154 non-Lebanese background) in…

Distance education is a significant topic of discussion within institutions at all levels of education. It is not only significant in terms of finances and student enrollment but also in terms of meaningful learning. The purpose of this study was to determine the relative effectiveness of three distance-education strategies for enhancing the…

Students from five high schools participated in a 2 to 4-week microcomputer based laboratory (MBL) physics curriculum in two groups. One group completed the curriculum entirely online, and the other completed the same curriculum in a traditional classroom setting. Variables were collected to predict student success on a post-unit measure of…

Since its inception in 1969, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has been regularly assessing the nation's students in public and private schools, serving as a barometer of educational attainment. This report in brief is excerpted from "NAEP 1992 Trends in Academic Progress," which presents trend data in science,…

This study was designed to address two related issues: (1) Why are Blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians underrepresented in science and mathematics-related fields, and (2) Why do students of these minority groups have lower achievement test scores in science and mathematics than other students? Data on a number of home, school, and student…

In the period 1983 to 1986, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) undertook a study of science achievement in 24 countries at three levels in each school system: the 10-year-old level, typically grade 4 or 5; the 14-year-old level, typically grade 8 or 9; and the final year of secondary school, typically…

This study set out to answer the question, "What are the components of high school courses that prepare students for successful entry into postsecondary education without the need for remediation?" Ten schools were identified where, in 2001 and 2002, students achieved scores on the ACT Assessment that made it likely they would succeed in…

Because research has found that many students experience science as fragmented, this study examined the impact of modeling by science teachers during faculty development programs on participants' subsequent classroom instruction and on their students' science achievement and motivation. In two programs, liberal arts college science professors…

The Comprehensive Partnerships for Mathematics and Science Achievement (CPMSA) is a National Science Foundation program launched in 1993, designed to improve the mathematics and science education of urban students in medium-sized cities. The goals of the program, in addition to increased enrollments in mathematics and science classes, were to…

The 1998 High Schools That Work (HSTW) Assessment report contains good news for HSTW sites in the Appalachian Regional Commission area and provides information on specific practices that need improvement. This research brief summarizes the report's findings. Based on 196 schools in 9 Appalachian states, the report shows that school, district, and…

This May 2004 issue of "Outlook," a monthly publication published by the Council for American Private Education (CAPE), describes the findings of the 2000 High School Transcript Study (HSTS), which examined the transcripts of 19,747 public school students and 1,184 private school students in order to provide a comprehensive look at the high school…

The effects of classroom assessment environment (CAE) variables on yearly achievement in mathematics and science in grades 7 through 12 were studied through the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY), using cohorts of approximately 3,000 students each in the 7th and 10th grades who were followed for 4 years. While the LSAY did not include all…

The Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico-Rural Systemic Initiative (UCAN-RSI) supports systemic improvement in science, technology, and mathematics education for all rural students in the four states, focusing on schools that enroll large numbers of American Indian and Hispanic students. This document contains a report on UCAN's 4th year (September…