Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) "Special Education at a Glance," which includes a copy of the "Guide to Planning and Assessing School-Based Special Education Programs," provides in a single document, information about the special education population at each Montgomery County (Maryland) public school, including…

Several schools that eschewed the middle school model and remained K-8 discovered anecdotally that their students showed fewer behavioral problems and higher academic achievement than many students enrolled in middle schools. On the basis of studies that verified these observations, school district leaders in Milwaukee, Baltimore, and Philadelphia…

Library media specialists are gung ho on technology, but they often lack the cash to take advantage of it, according to "SLJ"'s first-ever tech survey. Earlier this year, they reported on the various ways that school librarians use technology--from creating Web sites to policy-making to training students and colleagues. This time, they…

This study provides an extensive test of Ogbu's oppositional culture theory that accounts for student maturation over time. Using data from the Maryland Adolescence Development In Context Study (MADICS), I test the proposition that blacks resist school more than whites, and that this difference grows with age. Analyses were conducted across 24…

Four Maryland middle schools, the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), and the Carnegie Corporation are collaborating to develop models of early adolescent education that: (1) improve overall student and school performance; (2) coordinate comprehensive service delivery to students requiring such care; (3) stimulate collaborative…

For the past 5 years at Boonsboro Middle School in Washington County, Maryland, a full-time lab coordinator has been responsible for all aspects of running the school's computer facilities. In a survey conducted at the end of the current school year, students, teachers, administrators, and district-level supervisors had the opportunity to evaluate…

Results are reported from a survey of 6,185 students in 23 elementary schools, 10 middle schools, and 6 high schools of a Maryland suburban district where schools vary significantly in the authority systems of the classrooms at each grade level. Analyses of the relationship between the 'openness' of a school's instructional program and student…

This report provides selected results from the 2002 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for Maryland's public-school students at grades 4 and 8. Since 1992, reading has been assessed in four different years at the state level (at grade 4 in 1992 and 1994, and at both grades 4 and 8 in 1998 and 2002). Maryland participated in all of…

In response to adolescent girls' concerns about teen violence, rumors, grooming, careers, and equity, four women teachers and a woman administrator at a Maryland middle school developed the Delta Program. The program provides positive learning experiences, teaches social skills and conflict management techniques, empowers girls through mentoring…

The research examined the influence of parent and school variables on minor aggression among early adolescents. Sixth-grade students (N = 1,081) were interviewed at the beginning of the school year (Time 1) about aggressive behaviors and selected psychosocial variables and at the end of the year (Time 2) about aggressive behaviors. Aggression…

This compilation of tables presents information on Maryland's public schools. The state's 1,254 schools include 791 elementary, 202 secondary, 175 middle, and 23 combined schools as well as 49 special education centers and 14 alternative centers. A breakdown for each type of school is given for each of the state's 23 counties and Baltimore city,…

This study reports the use longitudinally of a valid and reliable instrument to measure teacher candidates' attitudes and beliefs about the nature of and the teaching of mathematics and science. The instrument used, "Attitudes and Beliefs about the Nature of and the Teaching of Mathematics and Science," was developed for the Maryland…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) and the Maryland Learning Outcomes (MLOs) on mathematics classroom instruction and assessment practices, professional development, and student learning. The data sources included questionnaires for principals, mathematics teachers, and…

Surveyed middle school students on incidents of bullying and victimization. Found that psychosocial and behavioral predictors such as problem behaviors, attitudes toward deviance, peer influences, depressive symptoms, school-related functioning, and parenting linearly separated never bullied or victimized students from the victim group, from the…

Physical activity levels in girls decline dramatically during adolescence, most profoundly among minorities. To explore ethnic and racial variation in attitudes toward physical activity, semistructured interviews (n = 80) and physical activity checklists (n = 130) are conducted with African American, Hispanic, and Caucasian middle school girls in…