Assessed analogical reasoning in high- and low-achieving students at the high school level and determined whether analogical reasoning was related to academic achievement in ninth grade students (N=54). Results indicated that high achievers performed better than low achievers on all types of analogical-reasoning processes. (Author/ABL)

With a national high school graduation rate, hovering around 70 percent, far too many of the nation's students are falling through the cracks of the education system and leaving high school without the skills necessary for success in college, work, and life. By preventing students from falling through the cracks and ensuring that they receive the…

The Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) program was established in response to growing national concerns about students too often lost and alienated in large, impersonal high schools, as well as concerns about school safety and low levels of achievement and graduation for many students. Authorized under the "Elementary and Secondary Education…

In the 2007 edition of "Diplomas Count", "Education Week" reported that nationally more than one-third of the students lost from the high school pipeline fail to make the transition from the ninth to the 10th grade. This explains why, for more than two decades, schools and districts across the country have struggled to develop freshman transition…

This best practices piece is based on key research into high school transition strategies. It draws on two studies of high school reform models conducted by MDRC, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization, which shed light on promising strategies to support ninth-grade students. Increasing the capacity of high schools to provide extra help…

Researchers have identified ninth grade as one of the most critical periods of time for intervention to prevent the loss of motivation, failing grades, and dropping out of school. This Information Capsule is concerned with the efficacy of ninth-grade centers or academies which isolate ninth-grade students into separate school buildings or in wings…

Bitter experience has shown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that if students are going to leave school, they are most likely to do it between the 8th and 9th grades. To combat that problem, the school district has launched a full-on campaign to get its rising freshmen into high school and keep them there. Two weeks before school opened, the district…

Researchers target 9th grade as the make or break year for completing high school. During the 9th-grade year, many students for the first time have to earn passing grades in core courses, and these core courses are typically some of the toughest and most rigorous academic classes a student must take in high school. Furthermore, the rising use of…

Explored whether a technology-rich environment that promotes a constructivist approach to learning has a significant effect on the learning styles of freshmen high school students. Results of pre- and post-tests on a learning style inventory suggest that a technology-rich environment that promotes collaborative, project-based learning can have an…

Students are faced with numerous challenges as they reach the high school level. Among these issues are declining levels of academic efficacy, expectancy, confidence, positive academic behaviors, and motivation. Intentionally developing existing strengths or talents may reverse these negative trends and equip students with the skills necessary to…

The "attitude-achievement gap" characterizing economically disadvantaged students of color is reexamined in a study of student perceptions of a higher education access program. Their descriptions of past and present experiences of teachers are contextualized in research citing the impact of stress, social stigma, and teacher misperceptions on…

This study investigated whether African American high school freshman students experience stereotype threat when taking a test that is seen as a predictor of their success on a high-stakes test. The authors conceptually replicated a previous study by Kellow and Jones (2005) using a true experimental design, as opposed to a quasi-experimental…

Empirical studies have shown that teachers treat students differently in response to differences in manner of speaking and in response to other features of style which may be culturally determined, and that Black children are frequently the subject of this treatment, which is often negative and critical. This study examined these interactions from…

Examined whether drug abuse prevention curriculum that challenges ninth grade students' (n=520) thinking about drug use through discussion and reflection on drug-related dilemmas would promote the process of individuation among adolescents by advancing students' moral reasoning and increasing their conceptual level. (ABL)

Explored relationship between metacognition and intelligence in 38 normal adolescents. Correlational analyses indicated nonsignificant relationship between intelligence and metacognition. Results suggest that tests of metacognition and intelligence may tap unrelated aspects of cognition and that additional research will be required to understand…