This research study focused on the potential factors impacting students with disabilities (SWDs) course placement and graduation rates at Simmons High School (SHS), a large urban school in Massachusetts. Preliminary research found that approximately 50% of SWDs graduate each school year at SHS and are historically marginalized compared to their…

The charter school movement encompasses many school models. In Massachusetts in the 2010's, the site of our study, urban charter schools primarily used "No Excuses" practices, whereas nonurban charters had greater model variety. Using randomized admissions lotteries, we estimate the impact of charter schools by locality on college…

This demonstration brief provides teaching and learning stories from districts and schools implementing PBIS with an integrated systems focus and is organized across the following areas: (a) the context of the school/district, (b) the changes made in the systems, (c) the impact of the changes made in the systems, and (d) next steps to improve the…

Early adolescence is a time of rapid cognitive, psychosocial, and physical development, and an array of contextual factors, such as systemic racism, exert significant influence. Universal behavioral health screening data of 4,234 middle school students were examined to explore the influence of demographic (e.g. ethnicity, race) and contextual…

Despite their demographic importance in U.S. classrooms, little is known about how the strengths and needs of English learners are engaged through technology, particularly as it is embodied by one-to-one devices such as iPads and Chromebooks. An exploratory study of English learners in technology-enhanced classrooms was undertaken at an urban…

On a spring morning in Maine, traps made of nets rise above vernal pools in a small wetland, ready to collect salamanders. The traps were designed by groups of rural and urban high school students from Maine and Massachusetts participating in the University of Maine Upward Bound Math Science Program (UBMS) at the university campus in Orono, Maine.…

This study investigated the perceived sources of support and stress of Brazilian immigrant adolescents living in the United States. The sample was comprised of 62 Brazilian immigrant adolescents between the ages of 14 and 19 (M = 16.55, SD = 1.31). The study also explored how these individuals cope with stress and how they help their friends.…

The Biggest Mover Program, an educational program to improve daily exercise and healthy eating was developed to address the learning needs of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities and physical challenges. The program was part of a three-part program to improve the knowledge of students, staff, and teachers through the use of…

This study addresses the following research question: How does telementoring urban high school students by English teacher candidates develop candidates' cultural competence and impact mentees' cultural identity development? Mentee-mentor exchanges were analyzed to uncover how mentees used writing to develop cultural identity, how mentors'…

The arguments and for and against minimum grading systems have grown increasingly more intense and acrimonious in the past decade. However, there has been an absence of empirical data, theory and clear comparative analyses of conflicting points of view. Critics of minimum grading contend that the practice will produce grade inflation and social…

The psychological, social, and emotional aspects of education have enjoyed increased attention in recent years as often termed "non-cognitive factors" and "soft skills" have gained traction in research, policy, and practice circles as major drivers of student achievement. This renewed attention represents an important shift, as…

Research on blended learning's effect on student motivation has been largely limited to undergraduate and adult populations. To address this gap in research, a mixed methods approach is used to examine the impact of the STEM21 Academy's blended instructional approach on 9th-grade students' (1) engagement in science and mathematics learning; (2)…

In this interpretative case study, the researcher examined the beliefs and practices of three social studies teachers related to their teaching of race in U.S. history at a racially and ethnically diverse urban high school. Using the theory of culturally relevant pedagogy as a lens, this study employed mixed methods, analyzing teacher interviews,…

This College Success Research Brief is one of a series of briefs documenting the implementation and impact of Mass Insight's College Success/STEM program. The research briefs are intended to share key findings, highlight ongoing questions and lines of inquiry, and inform the thinking of practitioners and policymakers on how to scale up efforts to…

I begin this paper with a reader's theatre text that represents the multiple perspectives of a student, teacher, student teacher, and administrator about a high school class schedule change. In presenting a text that portrays multiple points of view upon what would seem to be an everyday experience in an urban high school, I aim to show the…