This report is the second in a series of periodic updates on the achievement gap among various demographic groups in the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS). For this report, students academic success in WCPSS was studied, based on outcomes such as achievement test scores, dropout rates, and course enrollment. In some areas, the gaps in…

This digest addresses city and state takeover as a school reform strategy, outlining the emergence of takeover in the past decade, discussing promises and limitations that takeover offers, and synthesizing the research to date on takeover's effectiveness. A notable trend over the past decade is greater implementation of takeover reforms,…

Although America has committed itself to building a rigorous public educational system, student achievement gaps and low-performing schools continue to exist. Schools with high proportions of students of color and students from poverty are less likely to offer a challenging curriculum. State systems of standards and accountability have often been…

In the midst of changes in the demographics, the economy, educational programs, and admission policies, the gap between majority and minority racial groups in their representation in the college population has been decreasing but still persists. This paper describes the trends in California high school graduates college-going patterns during the…

Situated Attainment (SA) is a within-class concept that allows the exploration of why teachers award some students higher or lower grades than their intelligence might warrant. A student's SA is operationally defined as the difference in ranks between the grade awarded by the teacher and the student's intelligence quotient (IQ). For this initial…

The Colorado Basic Literacy Law, enacted in 1996, requires that school districts report the number and percentage of students who are reading at or above grade level in grade 3, are on individualized literacy plans, or improve their reading achievement by two or more grade levels in a single year. The law requires the use of multiple indicators or…

This paper reviews the extent and consequences of grade retention in elementary and secondary school. The first part of the paper reviews recent proposals for test-based grade promotion and retention. These are based on politically attractive, but scientifically unsupported claims about the benefits of retention, and minority students are more…

Aptitude test scores of education majors at Florida Atlantic University who demonstrated poor writing abilities were compared to determine ability differences between those who graduated and those who did not. Graduates outscored dropouts in the five major areas tested, although both groups ranked low in comparison to the general college…

The effectiveness of a supervised cross-age tutoring program in mathematics operations was assessed using 51 grade-six children and 25 grade-five children who tutored 51 grade-three and 25 grade-two children on a one-to-one basis for 30 minutes per day, for 20 days. (Author/PN)

Concludes that oral reading should be given additional emphasis in the elementary grades. (FL)

Discusses the need that low-achieving, disadvantaged youth in England have for relevant political education. The author suggests innovative solutions such as community service job programs and experiential learning situations which could provide youth with opportunities for informal political discussions and work experience. Communication skills…

Reports how a teacher developed practical methods for raising the reading scores of low ability, learning disabled students. (RL)

Stressing to remedial educators the danger of complacency once a learner has acquired the basic skills of reading and numeracy, the authors advocate cooperation and coordination between secondary remedial education and adult literacy programs and call for a real commitment by teachers toward fostering basic skills in the disadvantaged. (SJL)

Relationships between mothers' child-rearing attitudes and the school achievement of their 11-year-old children were examined. Results indicated that, in comparison, mothers of under-achieving sons are more dominant, rigid, possessive, and intrusive, while mothers of under-achieving daughters are more dominant, rigid, and protective. (Author/SJL)