Adolescents in the urban public school system experience childhood trauma that sometimes makes it difficult to focus on learning. Even more so, sometimes trauma experienced by youth manifests in disruptive behaviors in the school setting. Traditionally, urban public schools have focused on teaching and learning academics, generally neglecting the…

The purpose of this study was to determine if teachers are currently providing screencast video feedback for students as a means of formative assessment while they develop digital content. If this approach was already in place, the benefits of the practice were explored to support existing research on the method. If they did not use the…

The purpose of this study was to describe the school climate and school culture in selected public secondary Priority Schools, Focus Schools, and Reward Schools in New Jersey and New York. This study used the United States Department of Education's Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Flexibility Waiver definition to identify Priority…

On the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessments, the attainment of performance level 4 is intended to indicate college readiness or being "on track" to college and career readiness. Students who achieve Level 4 should have a 0.75 probability of attaining at least a C in entry-level,…

This action research study examined the effect of Read 180, a research-based reading intervention program, on the reading achievement among struggling readers in Grades 9-11 as measured by reading clusters on the Language Arts Literacy portion of the High School Proficiency Assessment, final English grades, and Lexile scores. Struggling readers…

In Essex County, New Jersey, whose county seat is Newark, students have the option of attending one of four vocational high schools. The Essex County Vocational School District draws students from the county seeking instruction in a multitude of career and technical areas. North 13th Street Technical School is one of the four vocational options.…

The way in which education is taught is forever changing. Therefore, a new method in which content is delivered is a central component in examining areas for improvement. In this paper, participatory action research (PAR) was used to investigate authentic tasks in the inclusive tenth and eleventh grade classroom. The purpose of this study was to…

A study released last week suggesting that California's high school exit exams are affecting some student demographic groups more than others is the latest in a small spate of studies pointing to trade-offs from policies that require high school students to pass state tests to graduate. Twenty-six states have exit exams in place or will by 2012,…

The Talent Development High School (TDHS) reform model, with career academy programs, was introduced at Randolph High School. Three academies were implemented, one called the Arts and Humanities Academy (A&H) focused on careers in creative arts, law, and public service; another titled the Business and Industrial Technology Academy (BAIT) was…

Introduction: This research sought to investigate how school students build on their existing knowledge of a curriculum topic and transform found information into personal knowledge, and how their knowledge of this topic changes. Method: The qualitative study involved 574 students from Grades 6 to 12 in ten New Jersey schools. The context for data…

Designed to engage the learner in active learning while allowing for different degrees of guidance, this workbook represents an innovative approach to the instruction of Early American literature. The Personal Literacy Jackdaw workbook provides reading, writing, and speaking activities to help the tenth/eleventh grade language arts student develop…

A study examined the characteristics that might be shared among tenth and eleventh grade students who fail the "New Jersey Minimum Basic Skills Test" (MBS) in reading. The scores of 15 students in the graduating classes of 1986 and 1987 who had failed to attain the minimum score of 75 prior to remedial instruction were studied. The…

Project Mobilization was a program designed to discover relevant materials and procedures for stimulating interest and motivation in educationally disadvantaged suburban youth. In the Union County Regional High School District No. 1, New Jersey, 15 percent of students were found to be "educationally disadvantaged." Preliminary steps in…