However well-intentioned, standardization and increased testing conflict with theories and research that supports authentic learning and collaboration. Implementing methods to empower and engage students can feel nearly impossible within a high-stake environment. This article discusses the findings of an action research study conducted to explore…

This research examined the extent to which benchmark assessments can be accurate forecasters of student performance on a state assessment in Algebra 1. The study applied correlational analysis, regression analysis, and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis to the benchmark and state assessment results of a rural school district in…

Background: We sought to determine if perceived barriers, benefits, and modifiable behaviors support or interfere with breakfast consumption in a racially and economically diverse rural high school population. Methods: The participants were 832 Minnesota adolescents from 16 rural high schools. We used baseline data from a group randomized trial…

Previously a framework for integrating web resources providing educational services in dotLRN was presented. The present paper describes the application of this framework in a rural school in Cauca--Colombia. The case study includes two web resources about the topic of waves (physics) which is oriented in secondary education. Web classes and…

The purpose of this case study was to explore how rural high school teachers and students, grades 9-12 use iPads in class, the obstacles and barriers to teacher and student iPad use, and the relationship between types and frequency of use, in one high school in Southern Oregon. The study consisted of classroom observations and follow-up interviews…

This research was conducted to evaluate the learning experience of Grade Ten students from two Malaysian rural secondary schools that adopted the integration of STEM in an Engineering Design Process (STEM-EDP) approach vis-á-vis an outreach challenge program. A total of 89 students undertook a ten hour program which engaged them in designing and…

Using a combination of counter-storytelling, testimonios, and Chicana feminist epistemology, I report on the findings of an ethnographic study that explores and analyzes the educational experiences of geographically isolated Latina high school students in a rural city in Wyoming. I demonstrate the labeling of these students by peers and teachers…

This study reports on the outcomes of educational psychology school-based intervention. The aim was to determine whether the intervention served as an educational pathway to resilience. Through a concurrent mixed-methods research design interpreted through a pragmatic lens, academic school performance of students in a rural school was used as an…

The MacPhail Center for Music Online School Partnerships program aims to increase access to high-quality music education for students who attend schools in Greater Minnesota in order to improve student interest and knowledge in music, and to improve or maintain positive school engagement and non-academic skills. The MacPhail Teaching Artists work…

Prior research shows that rural students' education expectations and aspirations, as well as their postsecondary enrollment and persistence rates, tend to be lower than those of nonrural students. However, much of that prior research may not apply to today's students because it uses old data or focuses on individual states or purposive samples.…

Youth Leaders Program (YLP) is a health intervention implemented in a rural Alaskan school district, which utilizes natural helpers and peer leaders to increase protective factors such as school engagement and personal/cultural identities, and to reduce risks associated with drug/alcohol abuse, violence, and bullying. Through these means, the…

Providing students with necessary intervention in the instruction of mathematics can be accomplished through the use of digital resources. Schools reaching a one-to-one (one device for every student) status have the ability to implement a digital intervention on a broad scale. For the purpose of this study, mixed methods research afforded an…

Poor student achievement, high discipline referrals, and student absenteeism were issues in a rural school with a population of approximately 400 students. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of Effective Teens training on the attendance, discipline referrals, and academic achievement of 10th grade students. The theoretical…

By 2013, all 50 states and the District of Columbia had adopted college- and career-ready standards in English language arts and mathematics, placing a greater emphasis on argument writing to prepare students for life after high school. Solving the specific problem of how to help teachers teach to new standards for argument writing as well as the…

This study used quantitative methods to investigate motivation to read among high school students in a tenth-grade English course at a rural high school in the Midwestern USA. Data were collected and analyzed to replicate previous studies. In this study, when compared to large-scale surveys, respondents showed more positive attitudes toward…