New Canaan, Connecticut, is a community of approximately twenty thousand residents, located fifty miles northeast of New York City. It was ranked second in the nation as an education town within its demographic category, according to Schools.org. In 2005 the high school rolled out an interdisciplinary project with freshmen health teachers to embed…

The present study explored the developmental changes of teacher-student interpersonal relationships as well as that of academic motivation among first-grade secondary school students. In addition, the link between teacher-student interpersonal behaviour and academic motivation across the school year was investigated. The data were collected 5…

Many students in the United States are graduating from high school without the math skills they need to be considered college ready. For many of these graduates, who find themselves starting their higher education at a community college, remedial math can become an insurmountable barrier that ends their aspirations for a degree or certificate.…

Instructional coaching runs the risk of being abandoned by policy makers and secondary schools if efficacy expectations related to adolescent literacy are not met (Knight, 2010; Walpole & McKenna, 2008). Research into coaching has examined the roles of coaches (Borman & Fenger, 2006; Smith, 2007) as well as the stances employed during…

The importance of a smooth transition from eighth grade to ninth grade is critical as this transition can have a lasting impact on a student's success or failures beyond high school. Studies in this body of research suggest that ninth grade students lead the list of high school grade students when it comes to tardiness, the number of discipline…

This study determined whether participation in an accelerated curriculum (specifically, the International Baccalaureate [IB] program) upon entry to high school is associated with increases in stress and/or associated with psychological problems. Data from self-report questionnaires were collected at two time points (summer after eighth grade, fall…

The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between academic identity status, goal orientations and academic achievement. 301 first year high school students completed the Academic Identity Measure and Goal Orientation Questionnaire. The average of 10 exam scores in the final semester was used as an index of academic…

Physical science instruction often involves modeling natural systems, such as electricity that possess particles which are invisible to the unaided eye. The effect of these particles' motion is observable, but the particles are not directly observable to humans. Simulations have been developed in physics, chemistry and biology that, under certain…

This study examines the effectiveness of a summer school credit recovery program in the Sun Valley High School District. Using logistic regression I assess the relationship between race, gender, course failure, school of origin and summer school participation for a sample of students that failed one or more classes in their first year of high…

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) as they transitioned into high school in order to understand the contextual factors that impact diabetic health-related behaviors and self-identity. A qualitative interviewing methodology called consensual qualitative research (CQR) was…

The transition from eighth-grade middle school to ninth-grade in high school can be an extremely challenging experience (Kennelly & Monrad, 2007). According to the Texas Center for Educational Research, more students decide to drop out of school during their ninth-grade year than any other time (Marshall, 2003). According to Fulco (2009), this…

The arrival of underprepared freshmen to a high school presents a host of challenges for all stakeholders. West High School in Bakersfield, California, responded to a problem of academic failure of a significant number of freshmen by developing and implementing a Freshman Academy for underprepared students entering the 9th grade. During two years…

This experiment investigates the effectiveness of Excel spreadsheets in a high school algebra class. Students in the experiment group convincingly outperformed the control group on a post lesson assessment. The student responses, teacher observations involving Excel spreadsheet revealed that it operated as a mindtool, which formed the users'…

This mixed methods study examines the impact of a freshmen transition program for at-risk students at a large urban high school. The overall experiences of the participants affirmed that transition programs for at-risk students must provide a sense of belonging, teachers must be able to build strong relationships with students, and life-skills…

Educators have noticed students moving from eighth grade middle school programs to ninth grade high school environments encounter difficulties during the first year of the transition. Students who do not successfully transition to high school run the risk of repeating ninth grade, falling behind their peers and possibly dropping out of high…