This article cites middle schools nationwide that are using various methods to partner with parents, ensuring that not only is entering middle school a smoother transition but that giving parents a better understanding of the changing curriculum is a top priority. Over 200 middle level schools are addressing No Child Left Behind requirements to…

What can parents do to make sure their children with disabilities stay in school and graduate? Be involved. Research shows that one of the most essential strategies for promoting school completion and achievement is family involvement. When families remain involved in their children's middle and high school education, students are more likely to…

Lions Quest "Skills for Adolescence" is a schoolwide program designed for middle school students (grades 6-8). The program was designed to promote good citizenship skills, core character values, and social-emotional skills and discourage the use of drugs, alcohol, and violence. The program includes a classroom curriculum, schoolwide…

This study linked gender, family help, and grade level to 5 features of homework management reported by 238 rural middle school students. The 5 features studied were setting an appropriate work environment; managing time; and controlling attention, motivation, and potentially interfering emotions. No significant differences were found across grade…

Students who drop out of school face a difficult future. For students with disabilities, the risks are intensified. Their dropout rate is about 40 percent--more than twice that of their peers without disabilities. However, families can play an important role in making sure their student with or without disabilities graduates. This brief provides…

This report highlights the evaluation of a parent education program conducted with an urban middle school in Southern California. The program called "PASSport to Success" enables parents to learn study skills and how to better teach their children how to study in school. This evaluative report conducted a pretest and a posttest on…

We report on the construction and application of an instrument entitled the "Science Achievement Influences Survey" to assess combined effects of student attitudes about science, peer interaction, and home support, and the frequency of student-centred and teacher-centred instructional practices on student achievement. Controlling for pre-test…

Students and parents need ample time and accurate information to prepare for the financial burden of a college education--those who lack this knowledge base face a significant access barrier to higher education. The early intervention community is calling for a method of delivering age-appropriate information in a timely manner as one means of…

They are adolescents--and those who work with them must understand them, connect with them, and make learning relevant to their lives. This article looks at recent theories and educational practices identified as appropriate for supporting the educational learning experiences of students ages 12 to 15. In this article, the author also discusses,…

Students and parents need ample time and accurate information to prepare for the financial burden of a college education--those who lack this knowledge base face a significant access barrier to higher education. This problem can be countered by the delivery of comprehensive, integrated financial aid information, an approach identified by the…

Early adolescence is a period of intrapersonal and interpersonal transformation; thus, middle school counselors need to provide services that appropriately match their students' and families' developmental needs. A collaborative, systemic approach is one way that counselors can work with other school-based professionals to support…

The purpose of the present study is threefold. First, the author aims to determine how middle and high school students would perceive and classify a set of homework purposes drawn from relevant literature by conducting an exploratory factor analysis to ascertain the underlying factor structure of these homework purposes. Second, the author…

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…

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…

This second edition of the best-selling book offers school counselors an expanded, practical, professional resource that is packed with hundreds of ready-to-use ideas, strategies, and tools. This "Survival Guide" will help readers plan and implement an effective counseling program tailored to the remedial, preventative, and developmental needs of…