The problem addressed in this study is that the low reading proficiency levels of marginalized elementary students significantly affect their future academic achievement and life outcomes. The purpose of this quantitative comparative study was to investigate the differences in the reading proficiency levels of marginalized Grade 3-5 students in a…

Among the many factors contributing to the historical lack of reading gains of our Black male students is the absence of texts accurately and authentically representing African American characters in today's schools. In addition, well-meaning educators are not adept in identifying and selecting these types of texts in order to provide African…

The charter sector has grown dramatically since its beginnings in Minnesota almost a quarter of a century ago. Today, an estimated 2.5 million children attend approximately 6,400 charter schools across the country, and all but 8 states have charter laws in place. The expansion of the sector has been accompanied by an increase in public commentary…

Based on a longitudinal ethnographic and phenomenological inquiry, this paper explores the change process that led Quest from being a marginal school to one of the highest achieving elementary schools in their large, urban district. Moving from textbook-led instruction to an inquiry-based curriculum allowed teachers to rethink their pedagogy and…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a continuing and nationally representative assessment of what this nation's students know and can do. NAEP has often been called the "gold standard" of assessments because it is developed using the best thinking of assessment and content specialists, education experts, and…

As of October 2007, 54 interdistrict magnet schools enrolling 18,928 students were operating in Connecticut. The bulk of these schools are located in the Hartford and New Haven areas--21 in the Hartford area and 17 in the New Haven area. Interdistrict magnets also serve significant numbers of students in the Waterbury region. In keeping with the…

This annual report examines student achievement in U.S. schools, using evidence released in the previous 12 months to investigate the enormous gap between the U.S. and other nations in mathematics achievement and analyze the gap in reading achievement between the nation's best and worst fourth-grade readers. The report also explores the culture of…

Looping is the practice in which a teacher instructs the same group of students for at least two school years, following them from one grade level to the next. Once a "loop" of two or more years is completed, the teacher may start a new loop teaching a new group of students. This evaluation study of the practice of looping in a large…

The introduction of the Multiple Ability Curriculum (MAC) and Expectation Training (ET) into the curriculum of racially integrated elementary schools appears to improve the equal status interaction between students of differing academic and social status. The goals of the MAC and ET are the following: (1) prevent classroom dominance by students of…