In grade 11, students use the life and work of Cesar E. Chavez as a case study to trace the major historical eras and events of the 20th century. Students start by studying the Chavez family at the beginning of the 20th century, learning about them as they struggled to acquire a farm in Arizona and raise a family. They also learn how they faced…

The North Carolina State Board of Education, as part of the Quality Assurance Program, initially established a computer proficiency requirement for diplomas issued to the Class of 2000. In October of 1995, the Board modified the requirement by making it effective beginning with the graduating Class of 2001. Students who were in grade eight for the…

This report describes a plan for maximizing the learning potential of exceptionally gifted secondary students. The targeted 52 eleventh grade students are members of a high school American Studies program located in a community 50 miles from a large Midwestern city. The issue of unfulfilled learning potential of the students was documented through…

This state of Missouri guide to content specifications for social studies assessment is designed to give teachers direction for assessment at the benchmark levels of grades 4, 8, and 11 for each standard that is appropriate for a statewide assessment. The guide includes specifications of what students are expected to know at the benchmark levels…

Examines whether retesting: (1) affects achievement of students (N=95) grouped according to previous achievement in science; and (2) influences students to delay studying and perform at a low level on initial tests. Also examines whether procrastination of retested students is affected by their achievement level. (DS)

Defines cases, symmetry, and analysis as the heuristic strategies most commonly employed by a select group of high school students in solving novel mathematics problems. Confirms that the utilization of heuristics appears to be problem-dependent. Describes the procedure, actual problems, results, and recommendations of the study. (SB)

Discusses a four-week unit of study for an 11th-grade honors class on Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God." Notes how they listened to the novel on audiocassette; discussed it in "Porch Groups"; reflected on what they read and heard in their notebooks; responded to each other's entries during Notebook Swaps; and invited a visiting…

Details the use and appeal of Web logs to enhance classroom discussion and allow for outside involvement in the classroom. Defines a Web log, addresses discussing literature in a Web log, and describes the author's first attempts at using Web-log technology. Presents considerations for using Web logs as part of classroom instruction. (SG)

Considers how the use of a picture book with adolescents enhances lessons and evokes aesthetic responses. Reports 11th and 12th graders' efferent and aesthetic responses to the poignantly evocative narrative paintings portrayed in the wordless picture book "The Middle Passage" by Tom Feelings. (SG)

Students in grade 11 and grade 12 with below-average self-esteem (N=56) were classified by gender and randomly assigned to either computer-based cognitive restructuring or a relaxation-training control condition. The computer intervention targeted irrational beliefs linked to low self-esteem. Results indicate that the computer-based technique…

Examines three writing assignment variables--topic, purpose, and audience--to determine how writing prompts affect student performance in grades 7, 9, and 11, and in college freshmen. Finds these variables influenced writing quality at different grades in different ways; generally, specific purpose and topic cues produced better essays. (SR)

Examined whether a significant difference exists between variable of ethnicity and scores attained on a minimum competency test using high school juniors as subjects (N=2,681). Found ethnicity influenced competency scores; reading scores were influenced by sex; and ethnicity and sex negatively affected whether student passed or failed competency…

After a 16-year absence from the public school classroom, an education professor returned for a semester to teach American history to an eleventh-grade class. He recounts four lessons concerning the need for classroom order, student motivation, teacher efficiency, alternative student grouping arrangements, and student feedback about teaching…