The Latino student presently faces many obstacles to achieve educational equity and excellence at the high school level. This article examines academic programming for Latino middle and high school English language learners (ELLs) and provides recommendations for addressing programming that promotes biliteracy policy and programming as a valued…

Low attendance in out-of-school time programs is the norm for many middle and high school participants. Using a database of more than 60 recent evaluations of out-of-school time programs, the authors examine reasons youth give for staying and leaving programs. They outline a proposed set of promising strategies for both attracting and sustaining…

Research examining environmental factors associated with adolescents' life satisfaction (LS) has revealed that familial variables (e.g., parent-child conflict, family structure) are crucial correlates. The purpose of the current study was to identify particular dimensions of authoritative parenting (strictness-supervision, social…

This study examined high school and middle school transition practices from the perspective of special education teacher leaders. Results indicated that the majority of schools offer functional curricula, social skills training, and an array of school-based functional learning opportunities. However, a significant number of schools did not provide…

This study investigated the impact of haptic augmentation of a science inquiry program on students' learning about viruses and nanoscale science. The study assessed how the addition of different types of haptic feedback (active touch and kinesthetic feedback) combined with computer visualizations influenced middle and high school students'…

In an effort to assess students' perceptions of victimization in their schools, as well as their schools' safety, over 1,900 students from elementary, middle, high, and alternative schools were administered a 154-item questionnaire. The responses on the items were used to establish the psychometric properties of 19 theoretically driven scales and…

In spring 2005, the Educational Policy Institute was contracted by an anonymous, non-profit, Missouri-based organization to conduct analysis of data from a series of focus groups of 7th, 9th, and 11th grade students. The purpose of the focus groups, conducted by the Change and Innovation Agency in Jefferson City, was to examine the postsecondary…

The American School Counseling Association (ASCA) identifies scheduling students for classes as a non-counseling activity. Ideally, school counselors should limit non-counseling activities, but the reality is that counselors do in fact spend much time and energy scheduling classes, according to a recent survey of secondary counselors. We introduce…

In this article, the author discusses AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), a program that enrolls the students who are most frequently marginalized in rigorous classes to prepare them for postsecondary education. The best predictor of success or failure in postsecondary education is the intensity and quality of secondary school…

Despite considerable recent public and judicial attention to the issue of drug testing, little empirical research has focused on the relationship between drug testing in schools and the actual use of illicit drugs by students. To explore this issue, we use school-level survey data about drug testing from the Youth, Education, and Society study and…

School discipline is viewed as a national concern that is becoming more serious by the day. Practicing teachers, student teachers, and preservice high education students across the country are concerned with discipline-related problems in schools across the nation. Perceptions of discipline influence practicing teachers, student teachers, and…

This article describes a grant-funded effort to improve the lives of academically able middle and high school students living in rural poverty. The program, Project Aspire, attempts to increase the number of these children in the most rigorous math and science coursework available in their schools. To that end, Project Aspire assists 14 school…

The Female Athlete Triad is a syndrome of the interrelated components of disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis. Sometimes inadvertently, but more often by willful dietary restriction, many female athletes do not ingest sufficient calories to adequately fuel their physical or sport activities, which can disrupt menstrual functioning,…

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) has worked with states, districts, and high schools since 1988 and with middle-grades schools since 1999 to improve student achievement. SREB followed students tested in 2000 and 2001 from eighth grade through ninth grade and found both middle-grades schools and high schools must find ways for students…

The Theatre Arts Standards of Learning identify the essential content and skills required in the theatre arts curriculum for the middle school and core high school courses in Virginia's public schools. The standards are designed to be cumulative and progress in complexity by course from the middle school through the secondary level. Throughout…