This study investigated factors in middle schools that contributed to student outcomes. It was conducted in a district serving predominantly minority and disadvantaged students. Data collection involved surveys of 555 personnel in the district's 17 middle schools and interviews with teachers, administrators, instructional guides, students, and…

Reading skills in a Midwestern suburban school are poorly developed. Evidence of the problem includes test scores, students' inability to read directions in text as reported by the teachers of the school, and oral reading performances by the students. This action research study describes methods for increasing active strategic reading as an…

The classroom practices of 20 teachers were studied during the field test of course 1 of Contemporary Mathematics in Context (CPMP), the high school mathematics curriculum developed by the Core-Plus Mathematics Project. In each year of the CPMP curriculum, mathematics is developed along the interwoven strands of algebra and functions, geometry and…

This report summarizes research supports addressing three areas as targets for educational improvement in Alabama: beginning reading, expansion of reading power, and intensive intervention for those who are reading below grade level. The paper also describes Alabama's statewide initiative to implement best practices in these areas and summarizes…

This brief examines issues raised by the No Child Left Behind Act critical to long-term success of states' reforms. These issues include building a coherent testing program (lead with standards, not tests, and ensure the quality of all tests, particularly their alignment with state standards); managing trade-offs between high expectations and high…

This study examined the predictive validity of precollege variables, such as high school rank, high school mathematics and science preparation, motivation, and self-regulated learning variables in predicting academic achievement status for high- and low-achieving university students using hierarchical logistic regression. The variables used were…

Teachers' beliefs related to teaching practices, knowledge, and social relations in and beyond the classroom were studied in urban schools serving African American children primarily. Two hundred forty-four teachers from six schools completed surveys about their beliefs. Of these teachers, 94% taught grades kindergarten through five, and 10%…

This handbook, intended for both beginning and experienced practitioners in the field of developmental education and learning assistance, integrates theory and research in order to construct a new model of practice, which focuses not only on students who need help with basic skills or are underprepared but also on high achievers or graduate…

This report describes the professional development experiences of teachers in high-performing, high-needs (HPHN) schools. Researchers surveyed K-5 teachers from 10 schools in a district with large numbers of impoverished students, examining: teachers' perceptions of the characteristics and outcomes of their professional development experiences;…

Building on previous work that showed the importance of discussion for teaching literature and that discussion in low-achieving high school English classes is particularly infrequent (Nystrand, 1997), this study investigated a low-achieving class that featured regular discussions to gain insights into how dialogically organized instruction emerged…

Research into the reading preferences of boys and girls has shown that there is a difference between the two sexes regarding the type of literature they enjoy reading. These preferences begin at an early age and continue on throughout their school careers. The purpose of this study was to determine if high school teachers are aware of these…

In 1997 the Board of Education of the Durham (North Carolina) Public Schools passed a policy that required all students performing below grade level on the Eighth Grade Competency Test in either reading or mathematics to attend summer school and demonstrate progress in order to be eligible for promotion to the next grade. This requirement was…

This study investigates the correlates and consequences of grade repetition on student academic progress and social and emotional development using the first grade cohort data from the "Prospects" longitudinal database. Analyses looked at two types of comparisons, same age and same grade, on three contrasting groups of students: (1) retained…

This program was developed and implemented to improve the reading achievement of low-performing third-grade students through the use of language arts skills and strategies. The objectives for the program were for 80% of the target group to improve their identification of sight words; demonstrate positive reading attitudes; increase pleasure…

Examines how the junior college is used by groups who formerly have not entered college--those from low-income families, especially disadvantaged minority group members, and the academically less successful of all strata and races. (Author/JM)