Secondary course assignment substantially determines a teacher's day-to-day work life, incentivizing them to realize their personal desires, which prior work shows tend to be working with more advanced students. Teachers have varying abilities to enact these desires, potentially due to their political capital, which is largely influenced by…

The current study, a causal comparative quantitative study, examined the relationship between content-based accelerated instruction and the growth of students identified as gifted and talented who enrolled in the participating district's accelerated advanced math class, and how acceleration affected students' growth based on socioeconomic status.…

The impact of the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum on Chinese teachers' self-efficacy has been unknown. The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to determine the impacts of the International Baccalaureate curriculum on Chinese teachers' reports of self-efficacy. Two groups were studied, the first comprised Chinese public…

The problem was the impacts of the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum on Chinese teachers' self-efficacy and student-centered learning practices were unknown. The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to determine the impacts of the International Baccalaureate curriculum on Chinese teachers' reports of self-efficacy and…

Background/Context: There is broad agreement about the benefits of taking AP and/or IB courses in high school. Nonetheless, student access to such courses remains uneven and inequitable, due largely to the practice of tracking students by perceived "ability." These tracking practices are often defended based on the contention that…

This paper aims at deepening the understanding of how the relation between home and school is negotiated in the mind of Grade 6 students attending an International Baccalaureate (IB) school in Qatar. Students reported mainly frustration and confusion. The Thematic Coding Analysis used in the study revealed two strategies students use to negotiate…

In the 2012/13 school year American Indian students accounted for 1.1 percent of K-12 students nationwide and 1.4 percent of K-12 students in North Carolina (U.S. Department of Education, n.d.). Research has identified substantial achievement gaps between American Indian and other students on national tests, in graduation rates, and in…

The Council of the Great City Schools reviewed the efforts of the Denver Public School System to improve student achievement, compared the district's practices with those of urban school districts that have seen significant gains in student achievement, and recommended strategies to improve student achievement in Denver. To conduct its work, the…

Last year, 15 students in the Montpelier (Vermont) High School's Advanced Placement Spanish class paid class-time visits every week to a nearby dairy farm. They interacted with the Mexican laborers by conversing with them in Spanish, having picnics together, and playing cards and soccer. As the students advanced their Spanish verbal skills, they…

The Federal education policy No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has initiated high-stakes testing among U.S. public schools. The premise of the NCLB initiative is that all students reach proficiency in reading and math by 2014. Under NCLB, individual state education departments were required to implement annual assessments in grades two through eight…

Schools and communities across Montana are working hard to ensure that students receive the best education and graduate ready for college and careers. One of the most important components in this effort involves understanding where students are and how schools and communities can best help them achieve at the highest levels. Data is an invaluable…

Over nearly three decades, the Public Policy Forum has collected and analyzed education data to report on the demographics, academic performance, and finances of public schools and districts in southeast Wisconsin. This 29th annual public schools report continues that tradition with updated analyses of new data and trends to shed light on the…

Interest in single-sex classes continues to grow in the United States, but there has been little research at the elementary level in this country or elsewhere to help guide educators' decision-making about the overall value of single-sex classes in public schools and the specific value of single-sex classes in public schools for increasing boy's…

This is the 11th annual report on conditions affecting the Racine Unified School District (RUSD). Analysis continues to focus on the long-term historical trends in RUSD, comparing RUSD to nine peer school districts and the State of Wisconsin. RUSD peer districts are Wisconsin's largest (Milwaukee Public Schools are not included) and their…

A collaborative partnership provides school administrators and university researchers an opportunity to evaluate a school-based initiative. Richards Middle School (RMS) in Columbus, Georgia identified school improvement goals and involved university researchers in a collaborative evaluation with implications for strengthening leadership, training,…