Evolving from a school where teachers teach to a school where students learn is an intense process that demands honesty, collaboration, and focused effort. Tefft Middle School in Streamwood, IL, a suburban/urban area west of Chicago, has made that effort. Its 760 students in grades 7 and 8 are highly diverse economically and ethnically. Principal…

There is a very large population of students who struggle with the transition from the middle grades to high school, raising concerns that high school failures are partially a function of poor middle grade preparation. As a result, middle grade practitioners are grappling with questions about what skills students need to succeed in high school,…

This is an abridged, summary report of selected findings from "Pieces of the Puzzle: Factors in the Improvement of Urban School Districts on the National Assessment of Educational Progress"--a comprehensive study prepared by the Council of the Great City Schools in collaboration with the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and with…

This report summarizes preliminary and exploratory research conducted by the Council of the Great City Schools and the American Institutes for Research on urban school systems participating in the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The study is one of the first large-scale analyses…

The study analyzes the achievement trends of all third grade students in the state of Illinois who scored in the Exceeds category in reading and mathematics on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) in the year 2000. ISAT performance of this cohort group of students was followed through the eighth grade. Descriptive analyses were utilized…

This document, developed by the Illinois State Board of Education, identifies five goals for learning in the social sciences, and provides sample learning objectives for grades 3, 6, 8, 10, 12, which are consistent with these goals. The state goals for learning are broadly stated expressions of what the Illinois State Board of Education wants and…

This document, developed by the Illinois State Boaord of Education, identifies five state goals for learning in the fine arts, and provides sample learning objectives for grades, 3, 6, 8, 10, 12, which are consistent with the goals. The state goals for learning are broadly stated expressions of what the Illinois State Board of Education expects…

This report compares Illinois's reading and mathematics performance on the most recent administrations of the state assessment with performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). To indicate how Illinois is doing in narrowing the academic achievement gap between African American, Latino, or low-income students and their…