Honduras has made steady progress in expanding post-primary school coverage in recent years, but many rural communities still do not provide a middle (lower secondary) school. As a result, Honduras has implemented a number of middle school alternative programmes designed to meet the needs of at-risk populations throughout the country. This article…

Young adolescents have unique basic and developmental needs. Middle level educators are best able to reach and teach young adolescents when they understand students' needs and when the school environment, including its organizational structures and teacher practices, are responsive to these needs. Findings from a recently conducted qualitative…

Research indicates that many adolescent students struggle with reading skills. Accordingly, this quantitative study attempted to address the problem of ninth-grade students entering high school deficient in literacy skills. The purpose of this non-experimental study was to investigate the effects a remedial reading program called Ramp-Up Literacy…

Gender-based violence is pervasive in South African society and is often seen as the driver of HIV, particularly affecting youth. Rural KwaZulu-Natal, where we have been working in a district in an on-going university-school partnership, is noted as the epicentre of the epidemic. The two secondary schools in this study were therefore conveniently…

The purpose of this study is to analyze 9th grade physics, chemistry and biology curriculums, which were implemented by the Ministry of Education since the academic year 2008-2009, in terms of scientific literacy themes and the balance of these themes and also to examine the quality of statements about objectives. Physics, chemistry, and biology…

To understand heterogeneity in the effects of double-dose algebra across schools, the authors focus on two policy implementation features and their variation across schools. The first source of variation is the degree to which schools followed the cutoff-based course assignment policy. The second source of variation is the degree to which schools…

In this study which was part of the DISUM-project, 224 ninth graders from 14 German classes from middle track schools (Realschule) were asked about their enjoyment, interest, value and self-efficacy expectations concerning three types of mathematical problems: intra-mathematical problems, word problems and modelling problems. Enjoyment, interest,…

In spite of the commendations for the use of portfolio assessment, there is still little evidence indicating that such assessment actually supports and encourages student learning. Hence, this research study aimed to empirically identify the effects of implementation of portfolio assessment on student learning and attitudes. True-experimental…

The language teens use in digital spaces--from social network posts to instant message chats to text messages--often does not adhere to Standard Written English (SWE). Their digital writing involves a combination of written and conversational languages and often has a digital thumbprint that distinguishes the writer. As a means to understand this…

This action research study followed a social studies educator as he developed and implemented screencasts in three ninth-grade world history classes. He focused on ways to increase student-centered learning and meeting the needs of broad ranges of learners. The study revealed an increase in student engagement, instruction in career and college…

This study addresses the problem of mathematics teachers' resistance to problem-solving models that align with constructivist perspectives because they feel pressure to utilize more teaching approaches that focus on preparing students for high-stakes tests. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explain how ninth grade mathematics students…

No matter how well an educator evaluation system is designed, it can only be as effective as those who are actually implementing it in the trenches (Stronge, 1993). Unfortunately, many educational reforms at the school level have entirely failed or have failed to be implemented as designed. While much of the current educator evaluation research is…

The importance of a smooth transition from eighth grade to ninth grade is critical as this transition can have a lasting impact on a student's success or failures beyond high school. Studies in this body of research suggest that ninth grade students lead the list of high school grade students when it comes to tardiness, the number of discipline…

This article describes the development of early warning indicators for high school and beyond in the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) by the Value-Added Research Center (VARC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, working in conjunction with staff from the Division of Research and Evaluation at MPS. Our work in MPS builds on prior early warning…

Commercial publishers have shaped reading and writing instruction in American schools through their interpretations of state-developed reading and writing standards and standards-aligned materials, which teachers then implement in English classes, including those serving multilingual learners. This paper uses microethnographic discourse analysis…