Funded by an award from the state of Pennsylvania, Quaker Valley School District launched a Digital School District initiative, a program to equip every student in the district from 3rd through 12th grade with a laptop computer, set up wireless networks in all district buildings, and provide wireless Internet connections in all of the students'…

Based on the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach, the Content Area Program Enhancement (CAPE) model fosters a collaborative environment among teachers and administrators to improve achievement for English language learners. In three predominantly Hispanic middle schools in south Texas, CAPE improved reading and mathematics scores for all…

To explore question-answering strategy differences between young "good" and older "poor" readers, 60 fifth and sixth grade good readers and 60 ninth and tenth grade poor readers responded to questions about passages read and reinspected. Strategies used were inferred through analysis of response errors. Implications for reading…

Several issues associated with equating and interpreting reading test scores from two different measures of achievement are discussed. The discussion is based on an investigation assessing the impact of classroom functional/ability grouping on academic performance of 5,439 special educational students in elementary, middle, and high schools. (TJH)

Reform efforts to improve educational quality and outcomes in public schools in the last decade have focused on improving curricula and teaching methods, with outcomes being gauged by demonstration of improved math and reading scores. This article suggests that outcomes must be assessed for improved outcomes in mental health and classroom…

Tested a model of individual differences in the development of emergent literacy. Focused on home environment contributions to children's emerging literacy skills and on processes relating family environment and two domains of emergent literacy (outside-in and inside-out). Found that early connections between home, language, and emergent literacy…

This eight-week descriptive study examined the impact of the incorporation of a Life-Application Learning Methods Program on struggling middle school readers. Two questions were explored: 1) How did incorporating life-application learning into the middle school curriculum impact reading motivation?, and 2) How did incorporating life-application…

The basics of No Child Left Behind (NCLB)--adequate yearly progress benchmarks, provision of supplemental services, and a "highly qualified" teacher in every classroom--are known. The intense scrutiny of the "how to" of those basics has resulted in a mix of impassioned criticism and effusive praise. What has been left largely…

Throughout the 1980s and early '90s, school leaders in Waterloo faced a gloomy horizon. Economic hardships, including declines in property values and rising unemployment, resulted in decreasing school enrollment and limited financial resources. By 1995, the district had accumulated several million dollars of debt. From 1995 to 2005, the student…

This study examined the relationship between creative teaching and elementary students' achievement gains. Forty-eight upper elementary school teachers' classroom instruction was observed and evaluated over the course of 8 different lessons throughout the year. For each teacher, during each lesson, both a creative teaching frequency score and a…

The United States has long been concerned with providing equal, quality education for all its citizens. With state-granted equity funding to needy districts comes the responsibility of wise use of equity monies. This study is an example of how three New Jersey districts invested their equity funding in a highly effective early literacy…

Findings from the recent OECD PISA studies highlight the need for the Hungarian school system to improve both effectiveness and equality. Hungarian 15-year-old students scored somewhat below or around the OECD average in the areas of reading, mathematical, and scientific literacy. In addition, students differ less in academic achievement within…

The purpose of this study was to examine how young children's homes and preschool programs influence kindergarten achievement by being "ready environments." Ready environments provide opportunities for cognitive and social growth through culturally and developmentally appropriate activities, interactions, and materials. This study used…

With the introduction of a growing number of private schools in the third world, several organisations and groups are endeavouring to examine the effects of such schooling systems on poor pupils. Professor James Tooley, the client, has collected data from seven regions internationally (three in India, three in Africa and one in China). For this…

A longitudinal investigation determined the growth of reading comprehension from third to fifth grades in a cohort of students who received Language Enrichment (LE), an Orton-Gillingham-based literacy program, during first and second grades. The LE instruction was provided by regular education teachers who received comprehensive training in…