The increase in the number of slow learners and children with learning disabilities in schools in Africa has become a major issue and concern. The situation is reflected in various school-leaving examinations, where an average of 30 percent of the results are below average or failures each year. Although there are no statistical records available…

This paper provides information about Georgia High School Graduation Tests (GHSGT) and Georgia High School Writing Test (GHSWT). The purpose of the exams is to: (1) Ensure that students qualifying for a diploma have mastered essential core academic content and skills. All students seeking a Georgia high school diploma must pass the GHSGT in four…

This paper provides information about Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) and TAKS (Accommodated) Phasing in End-of-Course (EOC) Assessments. The purpose of the tests is to: (1) Meet a state mandate; (2) Provide schools with student academic diagnostic information; (3) Determine prospective high school graduates' mastery of the state…

This paper provides information about Washington Assessment of Student Learning and the new High School Proficiency Exam. The purpose of the exam is to: (1) Determine prospective high school graduates' knowledge and skill levels relative to those needed for entry-level employment and postsecondary education; (2) Determine prospective high school…

At a regional Australian university, a Learning Circle approach was implemented with a small group of first year education students who identified themselves as "at risk" of failure in the tertiary context. As part of their participation in weekly meetings, the students engaged in discussion, reflection and problem-solving related to…

The purpose of this researcher-school collaborative study was to examine factors which might be intervenable by urban high school counselors in assisting at-risk students. There were two primary objectives. The first was to examine the degree to which urban adolescents' academic competence predicts cumulative grade point average (GPA). The second…

Early identification of the lack of behavioral competencies followed by subsequent intervention is critical to reducing the number of students at risk for increasing disciplinary responses and school failure. This study examined scores on the Behavior Objective Sequence (BOS) of elementary school students referred for out-of-classroom disciplinary…

Nine ninth graders at risk of school failure participated in a supportive group counseling intervention. Students' GPA in the treatment group did not significantly improve when compared to a control group. Additionally, the treatment group completed the Critical Incidents Questionnaire (CIQ) at the conclusion of the intervention, and a follow-up…

There is an increasing awareness that school failure and early school leaving are processes, rather than discrete events, that often co-occur and can have lasting negative effects on children's development. Most of the literature has focused on risk factors for failure and dropout rather than on the promotion of competencies that can increase…

With over two thirds of high school graduates going on to pursue postsecondary options after high school and over one fourth at 4-year institutions and nearly half at 2-year schools never reaching their sophomore year, it is evident that the transition from high school to college is a broken one for many students. There has been a nationwide call…

A case study approach was used to examine reasons for success and failure among high-risk students at a community college. The impact of academic and social integration was assessed in terms of success, as defined both by the students and by institutional standards. Two surveys of 563 first-time enrolled students in 1984 and a later follow-up of…

An analysis of the problems of an illiterate woman who learned to read as an adult, based on oral history techniques supplemented by information from teachers, family, and friends, is presented in this paper. An account of the woman's life is first presented to show her complete inability to read or write through ten years of schooling, the…

This research report examines the school and home experiences of the black inner-city kindergarten, first, and second grade child. A team of researchers observed the homes and classrooms of selected children over a three-year period in four schools in a midwestern city in the United States. All of the children, teachers, and staff in these schools…

Reading First, part of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, seeks to lift reading achievement by encouraging the use of reading programs that have been scientifically proven to work. Reading First, which accounts for just 2 percent of federal education spending, is helping many districts to achieve promising results--including Richmond, Virginia,…

Texas state assessment (TAKS) data in reading/English language arts and mathematics from 2006 and 2007 for AISD students enrolled in Fall 2007 were examined to find out how many students failed both tests, passed both tests, or failed one but not the other, for two consecutive years.