Describes one school district's (Wareham, Massachusetts) experience with Reading Recovery, a first-grade program to help low achievers and at-risk readers. In contrast to reports from Reading Recovery staff, an outside evaluation found that the program did not meet expectations and did not produce lasting results. The district concluded that it…

In Langley Park, Maryland, a predominantly immigrant neighborhood, students perform well below state norms and have high dropout rates. Contributing factors are embedded in the schools and school system, neighborhood, family, and generalized process of marginalization. Residential mobility, school staff and peer turnover, and other elements of…

Describes examples of financial incentives used to recruit teachers for low-achieving and hard-to-staff schools. Includes targeted salary increases, housing incentives, tuition assistance, and tax credits. (PKP)

Explores the effects of different rates of classroom participation on the peer ratings of three student groups: students with learning disabilities; low-achieving nondisabled students; and average- and high-achieving students. Results suggested that, as the rate of classroom participation decreased, ratings tended to diverge increasingly from…

Indicates that the classroom culture and the relationship the teachers form with the students inspire student participation and pride in learning. Examines how agency functioned in an inquiry-based summer school program. Strives to understand how low-achieving students and their teachers perceived choice and decision-making roles while…

Examined demographic, cognitive, achievement, perceptual, visual-motor, and behavioral characteristics of three groups of children at end of first year in either transitional prekindergarten program or regular kindergarten program following retention or promotion recommendations. Retained children differed from promoted peers, being younger and…

Compared to 92 low-achieving and high-achieving students, 46 intermediate grade learning-disabled students wrote compositions, wrote summaries, and produced comprehension recalls that were less organized and contained fewer ideas. Interviews indicated that learning-disabled students possessed less knowledge about processes related to…

Superintendents of urban school districts are confronted by large classes; shortages of qualified staff, materials, and supplies; and inequitable funding. Despite their superintendent's herculean efforts to build strong community support, the Baltimore schools have the lowest per pupil expenditure among Maryland's largest school systems. (MLH)

Consistent evidence relates insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) to lower intellectual functioning in children, although performance is still in the average range. Children with IDDM have received specialized classroom assistance at school. Boys with diabetes appear at greater risk for learning problems than girls. Evidence suggests both…

Investigates the performance of a regulated, equalized school system by analyzing the relationship between resource use and student achievement in 34 Norwegian high schools. Distinguishing between quantity and quality, uses data envelopment analysis to establish a reference frontier representing best practices and measure technical efficiencies.…

Two studies of the effectiveness of supplemental instruction (SI) for college-level calculus courses are reported. In each, achievement was compared for students whose discussion groups were conducted using the supplemental instruction (SI) model and those whose discussion groups were conducted with traditional content-only focus. In both cases,…

Finds that assisted practice significantly improved the text reading rates and reading comprehension scores of the experimental groups compared to the control group, although some gains did not reach statistical significance. Finds that listening while reading resulted in twice the amount of reading as the other method and led to higher scores on…

Data from the Connecticut Longitudinal Study were used to compare two definitions of reading disability: a discrepancy-based model and a low reading achievement model. Children (n=415) satisfying each definition in second grade were compared retrospectively in kindergarten and prospectively in fifth guide. Findings suggest more similarities than…

This paper reviews literature on individualized math instructional techniques with students who have learning disabilities and suggests application strategies for resource teachers and mainstream teachers of low-achieving math students. Techniques described include reinforcement, demonstration plus permanent model, goal setting, and…

Describes how reading aloud was incorporated as a regular component into a high school remedial program. Discusses how reading aloud helped students develop appreciation for the written language; a sense of cultural literacy; vocabulary; and metacognitive strategies. (SR)