This study contributes to the field by identifying a broad range of traditional and newer middle grade policies and practices, and determining in California which of these differentiate higher- from lower-performing schools serving similar student populations, with performance measured by the state's standards-based tests. Based on a sample of 303…

In the 2008-09 school year researchers from EdSource and Stanford University conducted a large-scale study of 303 middle grades schools in California. The team surveyed 303 principals, 3,752 English Language Arts (ELA) and math teachers in grades 6-8, and 157 superintendents of the districts and charter management organizations that oversee the…

This research project surveyed 80% of the K-5 classroom teachers (over 5,500) and every principal at 257 elementary schools in California serving large percentages of low-income, minority, and English Learner students. Specifically, 98% percent of the schools in the sample qualified for Title I funding. The goal was to identify which specific…

Five issues of the journal of the California Association for the Gifted comprise this document. The first issue focuses on the contributions of the late Jeanne Delp, a leading California educator. Articles by Delp include: "Who is Virgil T. Frey?,""How to Live Successfully with the Gifted Child,""Strangers among the…

The Arctic is covered with ice and snow for most of the year. Animals that live in Alaska's arctic region must be able to survive long winters and very cold temperatures. Surprisingly, many animals live in the harsh, cold climate. This first-grade activity plan helps students learn about the animals of the far north. The plan gives six steps for…

In 2002, President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act. In addition to providing additional funding for schools and encouraging local autonomy, the new law focuses on accountability in an attempt to close the achievement gap for all students, leaving no child behind. Perhaps the most striking manifestation of Bush's new law is the…

This sampler discusses California's English-language arts assessment program and presents examples of middle grades reading assessments, writing assessments, and writing prompts. The first section of the sampler takes an integrated look at the changes which make up the new English-language arts assessment. The second section presents the scoring…

In the fall of 1971, a Spanish immersion program was initiated in kindergarten at the Linwood Howe Elementary School in Culver City, California. The original (pilot) group was in grade 2 at the time of this study, which focused on the pilot group in grade 2 and the follow-up group at grade 1. The major questions examined were: (1) Are the students…

This report is one of nine detailed case studies of small urban high schools that served as the foundation for the Education Resource Strategies (ERS) report "Strategic Designs: Lessons from Leading Edge Small Urban High Schools." These nine schools were dubbed "Leading Edge Schools" because they stand apart from other high…

A study investigated how schools and teachers attempt to meet the needs of language minority students and to utilize literature as a means to teach English language reading to students while building their English language capacities. Language arts and reading instruction was observed in 12 third- through fifth-grade classrooms in three elementary…

This resource guide lists 47 computer software and 29 instructional video programs recommended for use in grades K through 12 to help teachers achieve the learning objectives set forth by their school districts and the State of California. Programs are organized in six curriculum areas: foreign language, history-social science, language arts,…

A COMPENSATORY EDUCATION PROGRAM TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS WAS INITIATED IN 27 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. DAILY SESSIONS OF 45 TO 50 MINUTES WERE SCHEDULED FOR 60 PUPILS IN GROUPS OF 12. DURING THE 1964-65 SCHOOL YEAR PRIORITY WAS GIVEN TO THE NEEDS OF THIRD-GRADE STUDENTS. BEFORE ASSIGNMENT TO THE COMPENSATORY CLASSES, EACH CHILD WAS TESTED TO…

Students play the roles of delegates to the U.S. Constitutional convention in this grade 8 interdisciplinary history and language arts unit. After reviewing the activities of the men involved in the convention (Patrick Henry, George Mason, Luther Martin, Richard Henry Lee, John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton), participants prepare…

The Reach System is a set of direct instruction (DI) programs designed to bring students who are performing as low as grade 1 level in language arts to performing at grade 8 level within 2 years of instruction delivered 3 hours per day. It involves a comprehensive system of professional development, curriculum, and instruction within the larger DI…

In teaching fifth-grade outdoor education in the forest and in an old gold rush town, the outdoor education staff seldom uses textbooks but does use many reading/communication techniques to help transfer knowledge of many disciplines in a direct way. (Author/SB)