Spelling pronunciations are hypothesized to be helpful in building up relatively stable phonologically underpinned orthographic representations, particularly for learning words with irregular phoneme-grapheme correspondences. In a four-week computer-based training, the efficacy of spelling pronunciations and previewing the spelling patterns on…

The present study examined whether specific item characteristics, such as mode of acquisition (MoA) of word meanings, make reading comprehension tests particularly difficult for deaf children. Reading comprehension data on nearly 13,000 hearing 7-to-12-year-olds and 253 deaf 7-to-20-year-olds were analyzed, divided across test levels from second…

The concurrent and longitudinal risk of enemy relationships, using both nominations- and ratings-based methods of assessing enmity, were examined among elementary school children. After controlling for peer rejection, only ratings-based enemies were found to have negative developmental impact. (Contains 4 tables.)

This case study explores the interactions between a teacher, her students, and a culturally based math curriculum in a fifth and sixth grade classroom in rural Alaska. The case attempts to identify and illuminate factors that created a rich learning environment while implementing Star Navigation: Explorations into Angles and Measurement, a module…

We report on an evaluation of the effectiveness of Project ARIES, an astronomy-based physical science curriculum for upper elementary and middle school children. ARIES students use innovative, simple, and affordable apparatus to carry out a wide range of indoor and outdoor hands-on, discovery-based activities. Student journals and comprehensive…

The Technology Immersion Pilot (TIP), created by the Texas Legislature in 2003, was based on the assumption that the use of technology in Texas public schools could be achieved more effectively by "immersing" schools in technology rather than by introducing technology resources, such as hardware, software, digital content, and educator…

A study examined a program for increasing reading ability to reduce the academic failure of identified at-risk students. Subjects were 14 second-grade and 18 sixth-grade students in a middle class suburb, southwest of a large metropolitan area. Evidence for the existence of this problem was gathered from teacher observations, assessments,…

This study evaluates an alternate model for middle school education, which was introduced into depressed urban settings in the 1970s by the Jesuit religious order, in two parochial middle schools, one coed and one all-male established in 1993 in an Eastern city. Comparisons of school structural characteristics, attendance figures, report card…

Mapping Our City is a two-year project in which middle school teachers and students in Boston explore the uses of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in project-based science, environmental education, and geography. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation and is being field tested in three Boston middle school science classrooms.…

The development of national minimum educational standards for the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) began in 1988 with the deliberations of a national task force that created performance expectations in a number of subjects. In 1988 the development of nationally standardized tests reflecting these standards began. This document presents the…

This study explored relationships between gender and the math and science interests of fifth and sixth graders (N=105) who participated in a summer enrichment program for gifted students. A researcher-developed questionnaire was utilized to obtain demographic data about the students and their intent or desire to pursue careers in math and/or…

Many current efforts to develop large-scale science assessments involve hands-on tasks because of their presumed power to elicit and measure scientific reasoning skills. An analysis of the processes in which students engage while responding to such assessment is needed in order to discover the specific forms of reasoning that tasks elicit. This…

The paradox of site-based school management with use of standardized tests or instructional management systems that restrict teacher choices was evident in one school district in North Carolina in which measurement of student success has centered on student performance on state-mandated tests. A study was conducted to see if students whose…

The perceptions of elementary school teachers toward the initiation of the New York State program evaluation tests (PETs) in science and social studies were studied. In New York, the PETs are intended to assess the local instructional program, rather than evaluate students. The social studies (grade 6) and science (grade 4) PETs were implemented…

To generate a useful means of analyzing think-aloud protocols of individual students, and to determine the extent to which practical information might be derived from transcripts and videotapes, this project focused on the problem-solving behaviors of 17 sixth-grade students videotaped while solving routine textbook word problems. Using a…