This paper analyzes barriers to educational equality in El Salvador, using a multi-layered framework of educational opportunity. To improve educational opportunity and give the most marginalized sectors of society the possibility of changing their life circumstances requires policies that go beyond mere access to formal schooling. The model…

About 46% of high school graduates enrolled in California State Universities need remedial courses in both math and English to prepare them for college level. These students typically earned B averages in their high school math and English classes. In order to address this issue, Shasta College launched Operation WAVES (Win by Achieving Valuable…

This fact sheet offers information on North Dakota's Head Start and Early Head Start programs, which are federally-funded comprehensive child development programs for income-eligible children and their families. The primary target population for these programs is children between the ages of 0 and 5; 5,176 such children and their families received…

This paper addresses statistical aspects of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act (Bush, 2001), with the following goals: to further the discussion on how gaps in performance might be defined and to offer candidate gap estimators, to evaluate candidate gap estimators with respect to three separate student performance measures, to provide…

Children's exposure to family violence may lead to increased school difficulties, as shown in studies demonstrating the relationship between children's adjustment disorders and stressful family events. To examine the unique effects of violence on children's cognition, this study compared the academic performance and conflict levels of two groups…

This publication presents a collection of true stories that demonstrate the ways in which children's, parent's, and staff's lives have been enriched as a result of their involvement with Project Head Start. The stories describe remarkable achievements of individuals, often made in the face of great disadvantages and difficult circumstances, which…

The Austin Independent School District (AISD) adopted the middle school concept in 1987-88. Generally, the middle school setting serves students between the ages of 11 and 14 and includes grades 6 through 8. In 1995-96, five middle schools met the criteria for funding under Title I. To make middle schools more responsive to the special needs of…

The three papers in this collection provide testimonial descriptions of the power of successfully implemented innovative procedures to advance the academic achievement of students whose life circumstances place them at risk of academic failure. In the first article, "20/20 Analysis: A Citywide Computer-Based Application," David J.…

The Community Liaison to Urban Education (CLUE) program operates from the Appalachia Educational Laboratory to research, develop, and implement a collaborative parent-community-school (PCS) education model designed to initiate and sustain the involvement of nonadvantaged parents, community leaders, and community organizations in the education of…

The shortcomings and assets of existing knowledge about educating immigrant students and their implications for serving immigrant populations traditionally underserved in U.S. public schools are addressed. How immigration interacts with race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, social class, and residential location is explored through current…

The Faculty Alliance for Education in Newark (New Jersey) is a network of faculty from local universities, a community college, and two high schools, all in the city of Newark, dedicated to improving the opportunities for at-risk youth to achieve a college education and an improved quality of life. It is an initiative of the Newark Educational…

This final report describes accomplishments of Project Discovery, a 3-year project in Kentucky to assist teachers in creating an innovative learning environment for gifted and talented primary-aged children. Major goals focused on and achieved by the project included: (1) increasing the percentage of disadvantaged students identified as gifted in…

This review of the literature on Puerto Ricans in historical and social science research focuses on major English-language books. The review finds that colonialism has been a major factor in, an orienting influence of, and a focus for critical writing about Puerto Ricans. In general, books published before 1970 were reflective, implicitly or…

No amount of wishing can eliminate the pervasiveness of social-class dynamics in the lives of teachers and students. Educators and students need clarity and insight regarding the presence, interplay, and power of social class in their encounters with one another. This paper addresses these social class dynamics within educational institutions,…

A study obtained information on examples of county or local Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) or JOBS-like programs that emphasize job placement, subsidized employment, or work experience positions for welfare recipients. It also identified the extent to which county JOBS programs nationwide used these employment-focused activities and…