To make the junior high/middle school curriculum more responsive to early adolescents, Illinois teachers evolved the ACT curriculum. Its three missions are applied academics, career exploration, and technological literacy, organized around themes relevant to the lives of young people. (SK)

Discusses collaboration between a teacher and an education professor in developing and implementing a new reading/language-arts program in a fifth-grade classroom. The move from a traditional basal reading and language-arts textbook approach to one using novels and process writing meant many changes for both teacher and students. An Author's…

ProbLab is a probability-and-statistics unit developed at the Center for Connected Learning and Computer-Based Modeling, Northwestern University. Students analyze the combinatorial space of the 9-block, a 3-by-3 grid of squares, in which each square can be either green or blue. All 512 possible 9-blocks are constructed and assembled in a "bar…

Presents results from a secondary school science teacher needs assessment for the state of Illinois. The Moore Assessment Profile, developed specifically to identify the needs of secondary school science teachers, was used to survey a random sample of 4965 Illinois science teachers in grades 6-12. (CS)

The team-block program, in keeping with current junior high/middle school research, represents a varied and flexible organizational and instructional approach. An Illinois middle school developed a student-centered program design that offers certain grouping, scheduling, and teacher planning benefits and accommodates remedial, gifted, and…

The purpose of this study was to provide a description and analysis of repertoire performed at middle school band contests in northern Illinois. Repertoire from 10 Illinois Grade School Music Association--Northern Division district level contests were analyzed in relation to the frequency pieces were performed, dates of publication, publishers…

For five years running, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has tracked states' teacher policies, preparing a detailed and thorough compendium of teacher policy in the United States on topics related to teacher preparation, licensure, evaluation, career advancement, tenure, compensation, pensions and dismissal. The 2011 State Teacher…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) From No Child Left Behind to Every Child a Graduate: Members of Congress and Staff Vow that High Schools Will Be…

The possibility of developing a separate educational institution geared to the scholastic and interpersonal goals of the middle school grades has become a major challenge for educators today. It was to attain this ideal of developing the many possibilities for children in this age range that the concept of the middle school campus was designed in…

Seventy-one elementary and middle school principals in northern Illinois responded to a questionnaire on their backgrounds in reading instruction, their preferences for certain approaches, their duties in relation to the reading program, and their feelings of competence in these matters. Responses are collated by school size. (SJL)

Asperger Syndrome (AS) is a neurological condition marked by a significant impairment in social interaction. Individuals with AS have brains that are literally wired differently from those of neurologically "typical" people. This difference in the brain affects sensory processing, motor skills, attention issues, emotional control, and…

State policies to equalize educational spending, cap bond and levy rates, require common teacher salary schedules, and consolidate school districts are geared toward improving quality and attempting to resolve problems of inefficiency. However, despite the use of state policy to equalize educational quality, educational gaps persist. Yu and Lau…

The intent of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 is to hold schools accountable for ensuring that all their students achieve mastery in reading and math, with a particular focus on groups that have traditionally been left behind. Under NCLB, states submit accountability plans to the U.S. Department of Education detailing the rules and…

The intent of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 is to hold schools accountable for ensuring that all their students achieve mastery in reading and math, with a particular focus on groups that have traditionally been left behind. Under NCLB, states have leeway to: (1) Craft their own academic standards, select their own tests, and define…

A study examined whether sixth grade students taught formal study skills would obtain significantly higher reading achievement than those not taught these skills. Study skills can be broken down into ten or more skill areas including: study habits, time management, test taking, lecture notetaking, reading comprehension, vocabulary, test anxiety,…