As young people today are flooded with information from a multitude of sources, they must be prepared to perceive the potentially oppressive and nefarious nature of many texts. Critical literacy is a theory and strategy that allows young people, along with people of all ages, to achieve just this; however, teachers often experience difficulties…

This article examines how three urban elementary school teachers adapted pedagogical strategies from a school district--adopted core reading program to increase their students' access to the curriculum. Using teacher interviews and classroom observations to construct a descriptive case study of teacher adaptation, analysis reveals that the…

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) impact students in substantive ways. These standards move beyond textbooks to emphasize hands-on inquiry focused on real-world phenomena -- making students, rather than teachers, the primary actors in the NGSS science classroom. The six-year NGSS Early Implementers Initiative has supported a group of…

High school graduation rates remain unacceptably low in the U.S., especially among disadvantaged youth (Chapman, Laird, Ifill, & KelalRamani, 2011; Stillwell, 2010), with troubling implications for future earnings and employment status (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012). Check & Connect (C&C) is an individualized program that pairs…

Introductory science, math, and engineering courses often have problems related to student engagement, achievement, and course completion. To begin examining these issues in greater depth, this pilot study compared student engagement, achievement, and course completion in a small and large section of an introductory biology class. Results based on…

In the 1990s, a handful of arts institutions made an unprecedented effort to engage young people through intensive programming geared directly at adolescent audiences--teen councils and apprenticeships sprouted up across the country and sought to welcome and empower teens within the museum. The Whitney Museum of American Art is currently leading a…

During the last decade, community colleges have taken a close look at the way they educate and train students, and are using an assortment of student engagement indicators in an effort to assess and document learning outcomes of their students. While these indicators have proven helpful, the extent to which new buildings, equipment, and technology…

For years, student test scores drove much of the conversation about school quality and student learning. But new state plans under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) show that policymakers are using a broader set of measures to assess school quality. In addition to math and reading performance, many states will also look at core subjects such…

The purpose of this study was to explore students' perceptions of their experiences with non-face-to-face counseling at a California community college. The use of a mixed methods design provided quantitative and qualitative data surrounding students' perceptions of their experiences in a non-face-to-face counseling program in comparison to those…

A growing body of research has indicated the importance of motivation and engagement in predicting academic achievement, particularly among Latino/a adolescents. The present study examined the role of cognitive and emotional engagement in a sample of Latino/a and European American junior high school students. Results indicated that while grades…

After a significant policy change led to the admittance of students with moderate disabilities, St. Agnes School (SAS; pseudonym)--a Catholic PK-8 school in Southern California--implemented an 18-month professional development (PD) program to improve teachers' inclusive classroom practices. Grounded in the theoretical framework of Universal Design…

Summer learning loss contributes significantly to the achievement gap between low income students and their more affluent peers. That makes high quality summer learning programs a smart investment for school districts concerned about success for all students. Such investments have become easier thanks to the flexibility built into the Local…

Disciplinary literacy encompasses not only the ability to read the texts of a discipline, but also to engage in the practices and discourse of that discipline. At the center of the discipline of history is inquiry. For these students to move from their ninth grade expectations about history toward the authentic discipline of history, they would…

The purpose of this study was to determine what institutionally contrived experiences would engage community college students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) study, regardless of their major. During the 2013-2014 academic year, 373 students at two California community colleges were surveyed, and an exploratory factor…

For more than 50 years, college and high school students, families, and community activists have fought for the preservation of ethnic studies. Qualitative research studies consistently have shown positive outcomes, including increased academic engagement and affirmation, for students who take ethnic studies in K-16. In this article, I argue that…