This article reports on the further development of the task-centered model for difficulties in school performance. We used Bailey-Dempsey and Reid's (1996) application of Rothman and Thomas's (1994) design and development framework and annual evaluations of the Partners in Prevention (PIP) Program to refine the task-centered case management model.…

Grounded in critical race theory, this article seeks to frame the ideological positions of success and failure for African American students in urban school settings. First, we revisit national data and research literature that illustrate the ongoing urban Black-White achievement gap. Second, the Matrix of Achievement Paradigms is shared in an…

Recognition of the disproportionately high failure rate of American Indian students in local public schools caused Tribal officials to consider development of a reservation-based charter high school. Eagle High School opened its doors August 30, 2004. This article presents the findings of a two-year study, which examined the struggles of the…

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the kindergarten Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI; Texas Education Agency and the University of Texas System, 2004-2006) Mid-Year screeners with a sample of 180 students. The TPRI screeners were designed to determine which students are not at risk for later reading failure. Results…

This article briefly describes the central tenets of a program several low-income middle schools implemented to remove failure as a choice students could make in completing their assignments. Instead of doling out Fs for poor and nonexistent work, teachers devised a variety of options students had to follow to demonstrate eventual mastery of…

Comprising a translation of the forward and Chapter 3 of the manual Optimization of the Teaching Process by Iu. K. Babansky, this issue treats the reasons for and the prevention of failing performance among school children. (Author)

Focuses on the paradox existing in the American educational system today in which Americans are better educated and have higher standards of living than ever and, at the same time, popular magazines and academic journals attack the decline of academic standards. For journal availability, see SO 509 170. (DB)

Considerations to be weighed before failing a student. (CK)

Children and youth at risk are a major challenge facing education systems in Europe. Some systems seem to be mastering this challenge better than others. Observations of the educational fate of immigrant minority children can shed light on the efficiency and performance of European education systems with respect to their ability to deal with…

This report uses administrative data provided by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) on kindergarten to third-grade students. The records begin with kindergartners in 2001, first-graders in 2002, second-graders in 2003, and third-graders in 2004 and include all LAUSD students in grades K-3 for 2004 to 2008. Altogether, the raw data…

This study examined the educational experiences of marginalized, rural, white males at a small high school in the Midwest. The nine students in the study were interviewed over the course of one school year. The interviews, along with observations and document review, constituted the methods used in the study. The researcher utilized ethnographic…

In this article the author draws on the concept of positioning to examine how language is used during one particular fifth-grade writing lesson to construct both the lesson and the participants. The author's analysis of the classroom interactions makes visible how participants colluded to position one student in particular, Larnell, as a "bad, bad…

This study examined the effects of instructional intensity on the acquisition of storybook vocabulary in first graders who were at risk of early reading failure. It also measured whether the intervention was effective for closing the vocabulary knowledge gap between students who were at risk and their average-achieving peers. A total of 66…