Seemingly endless tinkering and adjustment of the structure of education in the United States over the past century have led to the adoption of different school forms (grouping particular grades into separate schools) at different times. These different school forms necessitate transitions between schools (e.g., from a middle school to a high…

Background/Context: Recent sociocultural studies of detracking describe the ways in which notions of ability--local understandings of students' intellectual capacities--are at play in these settings, shaping both the politics and the practice of the reform. This study extends this examination into the classrooms of detracking schools. Purpose:…

The transition into high school is a critical point in the educational pipeline, and ninth-grade can be characterized as one of its leakiest junctures. This policy brief examines how some states and districts are currently easing the transition into high school for students. It focuses on five key challenges that states, districts and schools…

Prior research has demonstrated that summer learning rooted in family and community influences widens the achievement gap across social lines, while schooling offsets those family and community influences. In this article, we examine the long-term educational consequences of summer learning differences by family socioeconomic level. Using data…

This article contains an analysis of a component of a large-scale reform effort in an urban school district that entailed placing high school students identified as underperforming in literacy in separate classes aimed at accelerating their learning. The relationship between students academic performance and social backgrounds, school…

The annual event dropout rate describes the proportion of students who leave school each year without completing a high school program. The event dropout rates for the school year 2005-2006 of 1.99% for grades 7 through 12th and 2.85% for grades 9 through 12th are consistent with the dropout rates for the past four years. The event completion rate…

In this paper, two nationwide assessments for elementary and secondary students' educational achievement in Korea were reviewed for their assessment frameworks and the overall results; the Diagnostic Test for Basic Skills (DTBS) of Grade 3 elementary students and the National Assessment of Educational Achievement (NAEA) for Grade 6, 9 and 10…

Using the Rasch Rating Scale model, data collected from 200 ninth grade students in North Sulawesi Indonesia were analysed. This analysis sought to validate instruments developed to measure the Democratic Climate of Civic Education Classrooms (DCCEC) and Student Engagement in Civic Education Classrooms (SECEC). Category used, item and person…

The development and implementation of a Professional Development School (PDS)--sponsored summer program for at-risk secondary students is described. Literature related to PDSs and summer programs is followed by a presentation of data findings and analysis. Attendance and grade point average data gathered on the 17 participating rising ninth…

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is the process by which people develop the skills to recognize and manage emotions, form positive relationships, solve problems that arise, motivate themselves to accomplish a goal, make responsible decisions, and avoid risky behavior. The Collaborative for Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), at the University of…

"Project 'Graduation Really Achieves Dreams'" ("GRAD") is an initiative for students in economically disadvantaged communities that aims to reduce dropping out and increase rates of college enrollment and graduation by increasing reading and math skills, improving behavior in school, and providing a service safety net. At the…

In a previous article, the problem of chemistry's lack of relevance in secondary chemical education was analysed using logical positivism as a tool. This article starts with the hypothesis that the problem can be addressed by means of activity theory, one of the important theories within the sociocultural school. The reason for this expectation is…

In individual interviews, 220 students in grades 4, 6, 8, and 9 were given one task, and 72 eighth graders were given three tasks to answer two questions: (a) Is a square the unit of measurement for an area for students in grades 4-8? and (b) Does a square have a space-covering characteristic for students in grade 8? The answers to both questions…

o complementary experiments analyzed the acquisition of text content linearization in writing, in French-speaking participants from third to ninth grades. In both experiments, a scrambled text paradigm was used: eleven ideas presented in random order had to be rearranged coherently so as to compose a text. Linearization was analyzed on the basis…

As a part of the teacher licensure program at the graduate level at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), the M.Ed. Licensure candidate is required to complete an action research project during a 3-semester-hour course that coincides with the 9-semester-hour student teaching experience. This course, Education 5900 Culminating…