The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how students at Henry Lord Middle School in Fall River take into consideration their initial college and career aspirations when making their decision for high school. Self-efficacy theory, critical theory, and a literature review related to high school decision-making inform the analysis of…

This article features Lesher Middle School, a school of choice, as are all of the schools in the Poudre School District in Ft. Collins, Colorado. In 2004, it was a traditional junior high school with a declining enrollment that housed an application-based International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP) that resulted in tracking…

Objective: To assess the measurement properties of several scales modified or created to assess factors related to fruit and vegetable intake within a young adolescent population. Design: Cross-sectional with data collected via self-report. Setting: Data were collected in regularly scheduled classes in the school setting. Participants: African…

In this study, the author suggests that the current ELL parental involvement model often overlooks the structural aspects and power asymmetry of parent-teacher relationships that can hinder productive collaboration. In doing so, the author uses postcolonial theory as a conceptual lens to investigate the dynamics of ELL parent-teacher interactions…

The following study explored the relationship between trust and collaboration in one Northeastern suburban district. In sum, 122 teachers responded to a trust and a collaboration survey. We hypothesized that the level of trust would be correlated with the level of collaboration. Bivariate and canonical correlations were used to analyze the…

A changing, economically competitive world has necessitated reform in mathematics education. Yet mathematics anxiety has been a prevalent concern among educators and others in our society for decades. Some students tend to be more anxious about the testing process and can often freeze up, others just cringe when they are confronted with any form…

The purpose of this action research was to explore and describe the relationship between middle school teachers' reports of their empathy and their reports of their likelihood of intervening in a bullying situation. Teacher volunteers from a single middle school within a suburban school district in a northeastern state were asked to complete…

This qualitative study explores how parents decide to enroll their children in one-way immersion programs and how the decision is made to continue in those programs at the middle/junior high school level. A total of 131 parents responded to a survey with open-ended questions about these two decisions. Analyzed thematically and within a conceptual…

The current study examines the impact of pretask modelling on the collaborative learning opportunities that occurred when Korean learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) carried out three tasks: dictogloss, decision-making, and information-gap. Forty-four adolescents who were enrolled in a required English course at a middle school in Korea…

The primary aim of the Middle School Intervention Project (MSIP) is to evaluate the impact of a multi-component intervention for struggling adolescent readers on reading outcomes. The intervention consists of: (1) targeted, Tier 2 reading and (2) school engagement interventions, and (3) data-based-decision-making (DBDM) teams to review and act on…

This paper illustrates how information collected through interviews can develop a richer understanding of the assignment mechanism, which can result in more plausible causal effect estimates from observational studies and provides a roadmap for sensitivity analysis. Focusing on the issue of assignment to algebra in 8th grade, the author shows how…

The purpose of this study was to determine how teacher perceptions of data and use of data-driven instruction affect student performance in English language arts (ELA). This study investigated teachers' perceptions of using data in the classroom and what supports they need to do so. The goal of the research was to increase the level of knowledge…

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in how high and low performing elementary school districts use and analyze data to differentiate instruction, make changes to district/grade level curriculum, determine professional development needs, determine teacher effectiveness, and determine the use of school district…

The HOPE Foundation (HOPE) commissioned the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to conduct an exploratory study of the implementation and impact of the Courageous Leadership Academy (CLA). In this report, the authors introduce the school reform model, describe the study methodology, present findings for each of the three research questions…

This study explores the perspectives of rural and suburban adolescents on the nature of schools, teaching, and leadership that influences learning. Middle and high school students with and without disabilities offer relevant insights to educators who are seeking to promote greater engagement, community, and success in their schools. Results…