The nation's dropout problem has been making national headlines with more and more frequency and more and more urgency. Although certainly not a new problem, the failure to earn a high school diploma is receiving heightened attention because the causes and effects of dropping out have changed significantly. No longer is a dropout simply a young…

The federal Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, project strives to equalize low-income students' access to higher education by increasing their participation in rigorous coursework, providing expanded opportunities for low-income students and parents to learn about postsecondary educational opportunities…

In recent decades, immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers have sought a new way of life in large numbers, often leaving their countries of origin behind in search of places that offer a better way of life. The purpose of this study was to investigate how elementary and middle school students in state schools in Reading, England (primarily…

During the last three years, Lincoln Middle School has been the site of a Professional Development School partnership in conjunction with the Illinois State University Middle School Department. With more than 90% of its 400-plus students receiving free or reduced price lunches, Lincoln is an eight-year-old, "Title I" building whose…

This double issue of "The Evaluation Exchange" focuses on one of the central components of complementary learning: family involvement. As outlined in the Theory & Practice article, investments in family involvement are important across ages and settings and through the co-constructed efforts and shared responsibilities of many…

This textbook is second in a series of three volumes presenting a mathematics course for junior high school and six-year high schools. This volume covers algebra, and arithmetic related to trade, transportation, industry, building, banking, corporations, home life, farming, community life, civic life, investments, and mensuration. [For Book I, see…

The southwestern United States is experiencing the third year of a perhaps long-term drought. Many places in the West are considered desert, with less than 10 inches of rainfall per year. Because of local drought conditions, conservation of water is essential. Leupp, Arizona, where the author teaches, is situated on the Colorado Plateau, a region…

This literature review is intended to provide practical information; lessons learned and promising practices which have been drawn from recent Kindergarten to Grade 12 (K-12) one-to-one mobile computing research reports and related articles. The information is presented in the form of answers to the following questions: (1) How is one-to-one…

Researchers and policymakers have pointed to the lagging scores of eighth graders on international, national, and state assessments as evidence that students are not prepared to meet high academic standards and that middle grades reform is needed. In response to these concerns, educators have introduced reforms designed to provide middle-level…

The intent of this manual is to provide some templates and direction to schools that are looking for ideas of how to incorporate work experience into their curriculum for youth with disabilities. Hamilton Middle School served as a pilot site for one of the Rural Institute Transition Projects from 2006-2008. The school administration eagerly…

Teachers and administrators were surveyed to determine the extent to which AP Vertical Teams for English were implemented in schools. Results indicate that even though the goals of the AP Vertical Teams were only partially realized, there was some positive impact on student exposure to Pre-AP instruction and AP courses and student performance on…

The federal Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, strives to equalize low-income students' access to higher education by increasing their participation in rigorous coursework, providing expanded opportunities for low-income students and parents to learn about postsecondary educational opportunities and…

This paper draws on data gathered from a five-month phenomenological study of middle school students' perceptions of the effects of computer-based technologies on a learning community in an online synchronous environment. Twenty-four eighth-grade students participated in the Web Pen Pals project, a university-secondary telecollaborative…

This report presents the findings of a Project undertaken to address the broad question of how to ensure the engagement with learning of all middle years students and how to encourage in them a higher order of learning objectives and outcomes both now and throughout life. It builds on current nationwide and international efforts at school reform,…

These proceedings contain the papers of the IADIS International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA 2013), October 22-24, 2013, which has been organized by the International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS), co-organized by The University of North Texas (UNT), sponsored by the…