In this qualitative study, the authors examine the advisory program of a Horizon Schools to Watch middle grades school. Horizon Schools to Watch is the Illinois affiliate of the National Forum to Accelerate Middle School Reform national Schools to Watch (STW) program, meaning schools with the STW designation have made significant inroads in…

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether small group instruction in kindergarten widens or closes the achievement gap in mathematics between EL students and non-EL students. The first objective is to examine whether the impacts of small group instruction on math learning differ between EL kindergartners and their non-EL peers. For…

Defining causal effects as comparisons between marginal population means, this article introduces marginal mean weighting through stratification (MMW-S) to adjust for selection bias in multilevel educational data. The article formally shows the inherent connections among the MMW-S method, propensity score stratification, and…

The objective of this paper is to measure the efficiency of high schools in Tunisia. We use a statistical data envelopment analysis (DEA)-bootstrap approach with quasi-fixed inputs to estimate the precision of our measure. To do so, we developed a statistical model serving as the foundation of the data generation process (DGP). The DGP is…

The objective of this study was to develop an instrument to measure school students' competence in learning science as part of a large research project in Taiwan. The instrument consisted of 29 self-report, Likert-type items divided into 2 scales: Competence in Scientific Inquiry and Competence in Communication. The Competence in Scientific…

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of racial and gender diversity on group process and problem solving in an academic setting. The importance of this dynamic is its value in preparing students for the workplace. The supposition is if a group is homogeneous, commitment and performance is improved. Data for the study…

This action research study focused on how various grouping strategies influenced preservice teachers' differentiation of instruction. The participants included a third grade mentor teacher and three preservice teacher candidates. The candidate preparation curriculum consisted of seminars, daily field-based learning experiences, and ongoing…

The purpose of this study is two-fold. Firstly the authors examine, given the amount of time allocated to literacy instruction, whether homogeneous grouping helps improve class manageability over the kindergarten year and whether individual students' externalizing problem behaviors will decrease in tandem. Secondly, they investigate whether the…

The use of project work (PW) or project-based learning has escalated in Singapore since its inception by the Ministry of Education in the year 2000. There is however little information on students' motivation, and their experience of PW over time. This study sought to identify homogeneous groups of students with distinct perceived locus of…

In response to the mandates of No Child Left Behind, (NCLB), educators across the country struggle to close the gaps between males and females. Some of the physiological differences existing between the male and female brain suggest support for single-gender instruction, which is on the rise within this country as well as other parts of the world.…

This paper reports on a small action research project carried out by a Special Education Needs Coordinator (SENCO) in a small rural, full primary school in New Zealand. It focused on improving the literacy outcomes for Years 5-8 boys in the school by way of a boys'-only writing group. Results show that the boys'-only learning group had a positive…

Advocates for multi-age classrooms claim multi-age groupings benefit children (Brynes, Shuster, & Jones, 1994). Currently, there is a lack of research examining play among students in multi-age classrooms. If indeed there is a positive benefit of play among children, research is needed to examine these behaviors among and between young children in…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the interconnectedness of the environment, human development, and the factors that influence students' academic performance in a homogeneous ability grouped mathematics classroom. The study consisted of four African American urban high school juniors, 2 male and 2 female. During the 12 week…

This study measured the impact of asynchronous computer-assisted language learning (CALL) approaches on high and low achievers' vocabulary retention and recall of English as foreign language learners. Fifty participants were assigned into two homogeneous groups. Both groups covered eight expository passages, which included "Select readings:…

As accountability reform intensifies, urban school districts strive to meet No Child Left Behind mandates to avoid severe penalties. This study investigated the resurgence of homogeneous grouping methods as a means to increase reading achievement and meet English Language Arts Adequate Yearly Progress requirements. Specifically, this study…