The purpose of the study was to identify the student's perspective of the difficulties of transitioning from eighth grade to high school. The intent of gathering this information was to provide primary source data for additional study and development of effective transition experiences for students entering the ninth grade. The study identified…

The Race to the Top and the School Improvement Grant programs provide resources to States to implement significant interventions to turn around their persistently lowest achieving schools. Implementation of school turnaround is a complex effort; States, local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools often engage outside experts and providers of…

The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) examines what students know in reading, mathematics and science, and what they can do with what they know. It provides the most comprehensive and rigorous international assessment of student learning outcomes to date. Results from PISA indicate the quality and equity of learning…

Young people today face a great deal of uncertainty regarding their career opportunities, yet relatively little information is known about the correlates and consequences of uncertain aspirations. Drawing upon the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE) born in 1989/90, this study examined a pathway model investigating whether…

The articles included in this volume of "Education and Urban Society" inform the special issue theme that poses the question "Are We There Yet?" An examination of educational equity in the era of school reform and accountability. Despite two decades of dramatic shifts in educational reform and policy among states and local…

We conducted a small-scale study to investigate if a brief timely intervention focusing on specific study strategies would improve student performance in university science courses. We targeted low-performing students after the first midterm exam in two courses (enrollments of 67 and 185) with different student populations, one with students in a…

Socio-economic hardships put children in an underprivileged position. This systematic review was conducted to identify factors linked to underachievement of disadvantaged pupils in school science and maths. What could be done as evidence-based practice to make the lives of these young people better? The protocol from preferred reporting items for…

Districts are increasingly making personnel decisions based on teachers' impact on student-achievement gains and classroom observations. In some schools, however, a teacher's practices and their students' achievement may reflect not just individual but collaborative efforts. In other settings, teachers' instruction benefits less from the insights…

Despite common conceptions, evidence on whether No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has had adverse effects for low achieving students is mixed. We hypothesize that the incentive to shift attention away from the lowest achieving students increases with the rigor of state standards. Using panel data from students in North Carolina, we exploit two natural…

Poor reading achievement of children in elementary schools has been one of the major concerns in education. The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a child-centered reading intervention in eliminating the reading problems of a student with poor reading achievement. The research was conducted with a student having difficulty in…

Research confirms that when students disengage from learning, there is a greatly increased risk of them dropping out of school and not completing secondary education (Year 12). In an Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) report on Equity in Education [OECD. 2012. "Investing in Equity in Education Pays off", in…

Background: Elucidating risk pathways for under-achieving at school can inform strategies to reduce the number of adolescents leaving school without passing grades in core subjects. Maternal depression can compromise the quality of parental care and is associated with multiple negative child outcomes. However, only a few small studies have…

Michigan is at a critical moment in time -- a historic moment where citizens and leaders must choose whether the state will take advantage of new opportunities to become a top ten education state -- or face a continued and dramatic educational decline. Today, national data reveal that Michigan's public education system is among the poorest…

Public education is at a crossroads. Moving in new directions is imperative. Just tweaking and tinkering with old ideas is a recipe for disaster. Continuing challenges confronting public education highlight why moving school improvement policy and practice in new directions is imperative. With a view to enhancing graduation rates and successful…

Although high school graduation rates are rising--the national rate was 82 percent during the 2013/14 school year (U.S. Department of Education, 2015)--dropping out remains a persistent problem in the Midwest and nationally. Many schools now use early warning systems to identify students who are at risk of not graduating, with the goal of…