This year the Center on Education Policy (CEP) analyzed data on the achievement of different groups of students in two distinct ways. First, it looked at grade 4 test results to determine whether the performance of various groups improved at three achievement levels--basic and above, proficient and above, and advanced. Second, it looked at gaps…

Over the years, situated and observational learning has given way to mass teaching and theoretical learning based on prose information. Even though schools have produced many successful professionals, they often fail to address individual differences in learners and encourage competition rather than cooperation between learners. As a result, many…

Objectives of the research project described in this report were to explore the African American adolescents' perceptions of the social forces shaping their lives and well being. The project examined: (1) perceptions and understandings of racial discrimination; (2) their views of the value of schooling and the role of school achievement; (3) their…

A study investigated the efficacy of a program designed to teach parents how to read to their low-achieving school-aged children to help increase the children's word recognition and comprehension. Parents whose children (grades 1-4) were receiving additional school assistance from a resource specialist were invited to enroll in the program.…

Recognizing that all learning must on some level be voluntary, the author draws on his experiences as an educator to explore not-learning as distinct from failure. The refusal to learn can be a reaction to the conditions of schooling, which many learners, particularly those from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds, find irrelevant at best or…

By studying the process by which disadvantaged and low-achieving high school students are assigned to classes and special programs, how and why disadvantaged students are placed in inappropriate programs can be understood. Reasons exist to question the assumption that students are assigned to programs rationally on the basis of information about…

Since 1981, Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act has provided school districts with supplementary services funds for more than five million low-achieving students. Historically, schools have used "pull-out" programs to serve this population, but the provisions of the current legislation, the Hawkins-Stafford…

This paper analyzes educational and social forces that prevent black males from achieving in school and policies that separate black males by race and gender from the general school population. The policy, social, and legal ramifications of plans for at-risk black male students in New York City, Baltimore (Maryland), Milwaukee (Wisconsin), and…

The Incentives for Improvement Program is an alternative student evaluation and recognition system that is responsive (all students have a realistic chance to achieve success) and challenging (students are not likely to succeed consistently unless they work up to their potential). The program's goals are to raise student performance and foster…

Factors associated with an unusually high rate of failure on the July 1991 National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) were analyzed for nursing students at Angelo State University in San Angelo (Texas). Of the 111 nursing degree recipients who took the examination for the first time in July 1991, 18 (16.2%) failed.…

A survey of the parents at a middle school in central Florida indicated that parents believed homework should contribute to the student's grade and that 47% of the respondents felt that mathematics should have daily homework. Based on these results, a study was conducted to determine the effects of implementing an innovative automated…

This summary report examines ability grouping and its possible use for in-school segregation in the North Carolina public schools. The report describes the development of concerns among minority parents about the placement of minority children in special education and low-ability classes and the investigation into the issue by a forum of six…

This report discusses the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program, an untracking program that places previously low-achieving students in college preparatory classes. The first part of the paper describes the origins of AVID at Clairemont High School in San Diego (California) and its development into a mature program. The students…

After reviewing definitions of school climate with emphasis on the four dimensions of school climate described by Tagiuri (1968), this document examines factors within Tagiuri's school culture and social system dimensions as manifested in the climate of average elementary and secondary schools and as they affect low achievers. Variables examined…

The predictive properties of the Gesell School Readiness Screening Test (GSRT) were examined, taking into account the stated purposes of the test and the context of test use. Two samples were used: (1) a control sample of 55 students (21 males and 34 females) whose GSRT scores were not used for placement or tracking; and (2) a treatment sample of…