Research on school effects has shown that differences within schools have more influence on educational outcomes than do differences between schools. This chapter explores the implications for educational equity of ability grouping. Concerns about equity are organized by placing them in the context of the meaning of educational equity that implies…

Using a series of regression equations, classroom process and student achievement data from 136 junior high school mathematics and English classes were analyzed to answer the following questions: (1) Are the classroom behaviors and achievement levels of students systematically different across classes of higher and lower ability? (2) Within…

Described are the background, rationale, research design, data collection, analysis, and findings of the Classroom Strategy Study, an investigation of 98 elementary school teachers' general strategies for coping with problem students and their ways of dealing with typical problem behaviors associated with each of 12 types of problem students.…

This reaction paper presented at a conference on compensatory education begins with reviews of three studies prepared for the program and staffing session of the conference and dealing respectively with student-to-instructor ratios, instructional setting, and summer programs. The paper then presents the view that huge gains in achievement will not…

This study examines the effects of academic ability (in average and lower ability students), gender, and teaching methods on students' acquisition of computer skills. Subjects were 247 college students who had completed a computer course using intelligent workstations in any one of six consecutive semesters. A combination of lecture and hands-on…

The Student Study Team (SST) is a school site team which involves parents, students, and teachers working together to assist regular education students who are not progressing satisfactorily. The SST model aims to increase positive outcomes for students; improve the quality and efficiency of meetings; and increase personal satisfaction levels for…

Two alternatives to retention in grade for secondary school students were evaluated in Austin (Texas). Both were designed to allow students who are potential retainees (PRs) to receive remediation in one semester. The Transitional Academic Program (TAP) allows PRs to enroll in ninth-grade courses while repeating eighth-grade courses they had…

The School Within A School (SWAS) Program is designed to help low-achieving high school students improve their academic achievement. This evaluation examined five program aspects: implementation; achievement; self concept; perceptions of students, teachers, coordinators and principals; and student attendance. Student team learning and individual…

This guide was designed for developers of mastery learning materials for competency based learning situations. Topics include: (1) how mastery learning works and how the mastery learning process can be used in the classroom; (2) the advantages of mastery learning; (3) how to determine if mastery learning is right for student needs; (4) how to…

Factors contributing to declining academic performance of college students are considered, including: increased government intervention in education, declining faculty expectations and lowered standards, administrative policies, and changing student attitudes and expectations. One view is that government is largely responsible for the…

Birnbaum's three-parameter logistic item response model was used to study guessing behavior of low ability examinees on the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) General Test, Verbal Measure. GRE scoring procedures had recently changed, from a scoring formula which corrected for guessing, to number-right scoring. The three-parameter theory was used…

An ethnographic approach to the evaluation of an Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I mathematics project designed for grades 3 and 5 low-achieving students is described. The research was designed as a series of eight disaggregated single case studies of the implementation of the project with the classroom serving as the unit. The focus of…

The research and theoretical rationale for differences between (urban) black and white students, particularly in achievement in language development, are discussed along with implications for the classroom. Theories about language acquisition and capacity that have developed to account for the poor school performance of urban black students…

A reading program implemented in the Birmingham, Alabama, public schools in 1974 has produced increases in reading achievement in each of the years it has been used. Prior to 1974, the average Birmingham student's standardized reading test scores ranged from two months below the national average at the end of first grade to one year and nine…

The 12 essays in this collection address the concerns of basic writing teachers and those who teach basic writing teachers. The first essay discusses the characteristics of the low achieving college students who require basic writing instruction and argues for basic writing courses that are based upon a thorough understanding of students' nature…