In 2003, 3.5 million U.S. young people ages 16-25 did not have high school diplomas and were not enrolled in school. Youth who lack a high school diploma are much more likely to be unemployed, go to jail, or require government assistance. Any instructional strategy that holds promise for stemming the tide of high school dropouts deserves…

First Step to Success is a multicomponent behavioral program for at-risk children who show signs of antisocial behavior at the point of school entry. The program incorporates behavioral intervention techniques, including praise and feedback, positive reinforcement, social skills training, teacher and parent collaboration, and time-out/response…

There is considerable interest and controversy in the community concerning how our students are faring in the task of mastering reading. Broad scale assessment, formerly at a State level and now at a National level (NAPLAN), is potentially valuable in helping answer this question in a broad sense. However, there are limitations to the value of…

This study compared demographic, academic, and clinical characteristics of adolescents at risk for mental health problems who either did or did not request help during a voluntary mental health screening. High school students completed a self-report to identify risk of mental health problems (n = 364). Students at risk were administered a clinical…

This article reports the findings of a phenomenological study that examined the lived experience of community college students enrolled in high-risk online courses (HRCs) at a community college in the American Southeast. HRCs were defined as college courses with withdrawal or failure rates of 30% or more. In-depth interviews were conducted with 13…

Based on a sample of 480 academically at-risk first graders, we used a cluster analysis involving multimethod assessment (i.e., teacher-report, peer-evaluation, and self-report) of behavioral and psychological engagement to identify subtypes of academic engagement. Four theoretically and practically meaningful clusters were identified and labeled…

Georgia Heard spent a week with students in New Mexico, encouraging their search for "self-portrait poetry"--poetry in which they saw themselves. She witnessed courage, pain, tragedy, and hope in the choices and writing of those struggling students, and came to learn that at least one among them had found a life-changing outlet.…

Objective: To investigate working memory (WM), academic achievement, and their relationship in university students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Method: Participants were university students with previously confirmed diagnoses of ADHD (n = 16) and normal control (NC) students (n = 30). Participants completed 3…

This article examines the terms "culturally deprived" and "disadvantaged" in light of their popular use in the sixties and following decades, particularly in the ethnic and mainstream press. These expressions represented an effort to explain differences in educational attainment and academic achievement along lines of social…

According to Birchak, Connor, Crawford, Kahn, Kaser, Turner, & Short (1998), Fang, Fu, & Lamme (2004), Kennedy & Sheil (2010), and Wiliam (2008), teacher study groups can provide a supportive and collaborative professional development environment. The purpose of this study was to examine the professional development experiences of…

Every step in a student's life is important for future success. Schools are building stronger frameworks of curricula, instruction and assessments to prepare students to move from one learning environment to another with maximum results as they journey toward adulthood. This issue of "High Schools That Work" contains examples of…

The Concurrent Courses Initiative (CCI), funded by The James Irvine Foundation from 2008 until 2011, comprised eight secondary/postsecondary partnerships across California that offered dual enrollment programs with supplemental student supports. The goal of the CCI was to expand access to supportive, career-focused dual enrollment for students…

In 2009, the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Committee to Improve High School Graduation Rates and Achievement, led by then-Governor Sonny Perdue of Georgia, released a report of 10 key recommendations for ensuring more students graduate from high school, and they graduate ready for college and careers. Among these 10 recommendations was…

In the action research project report, the teacher researchers found that many kindergarten and first-grade students did not have the reading readiness skills to be reading at their benchmark target. The purpose of the project was to improve the students overall reading ability. The dates of the project began on September 8 through December 20,…

Education leaders across the country confront a growing challenge: too many students are not college ready when they leave high school. Although indicators exist to identify students at risk of dropping out of high school, few indicators of students' college readiness are currently in place, and few districts have linked indicators to practices…