Students classified as English learners (EL) are a protected class of students with core legal rights. There are clear opportunities to strengthen education policies and practices to improve opportunities and outcomes for EL-classified students. This dissertation is comprised of three studies examining key issues in EL education with the goal of…

The purpose of this case study was to explore how rural high school teachers and students, grades 9-12 use iPads in class, the obstacles and barriers to teacher and student iPad use, and the relationship between types and frequency of use, in one high school in Southern Oregon. The study consisted of classroom observations and follow-up interviews…

Thirty years ago we would think nothing of driving to school with a jackknife in our pocket or rifle in the gun rack. Since then, the practices of possessing, transporting, and using firearms have been limited by laws, rules, and public perception. Despite restrictions on youth, the Youth Handgun Safety Act does afford 4-H shooting sports members…

By coincidence or not, Massachusetts, Illinois and Virginia created civic education task forces not long after national test results showed a dismal understanding of the subject matter across all grade levels. Results of the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress showed just 25 percent of all testtakers in grades 4, 8 and 12 demonstrated…

Disaggregating the data across four school variables--size, locale, racial/ethnic minority population, and population eligible for free or reduced-price lunch--this study examines the extent to which Oregon grade 9-12 students enrolled in high school math courses during 2006/07 and 2007/08 would not have been on track to graduate had the new…

In 2005, the U.S. Department of Education awarded eight Striving Readers grants to projects around the country. The goal of Striving Readers is to improve literacy skills and achievement for struggling readers in middle and high school and to increase the research base using randomized clinical research to address improvement in adolescent…

This article reviews the contributions of the Oregon Resiliency Project, an effort to enhance positive social-emotional development of children and youth through social and emotional learning (SEL). The project was launched in 2001 as a collaborative effort between faculty and graduate student researchers at the University of Oregon. The primary…

In the pre-Internet world of 1992, a new organization called Project Vote Smart used the highest technology available--a toll-free Voter's Research Hotline--to help voters get the facts about candidates and elected officials. Designed to give voters the tools they needed to "Vote Smart," the Hotline connected voters with questions to 50…

This individual profile provides information on Oregon's high school exit exam standards and policies. Some of the categories presented include: (1) State exit exam policy; (2) Type of Test; (3) Purpose; (4) Major changes in exit exam policy since the 2009-10 school year for financial reasons; (5) Subjects tested on exam; (6) Grade exam first…

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE WORK OF THE OREGON CURRICULUM STUDY CENTER WAS REPORTED. INCLUDED IN THE INTRODUCTION WERE THREE ESSAYS DESCRIBING LITERATURE, LANGUAGE, AND RHETORIC CURRICULUMS UNDER DEVELOPMENT. THE ESSAYS WERE PREPARED FOR PROFESSIONAL READERS AND DESCRIBE COURSES OF STUDY BEING DEVELOPED. PRIMARY EMPHASIS WAS ON THE DESCRIPTION OF…

THESE TWO UNITS FOR 12TH-GRADERS INTRODUCE STYLE AS THE UNIFYING CONCEPT OF THE YEAR'S RHETORIC STUDY. THE FIRST, "THE WORLD OF THE WRITER," REVIEWS CONCEPTS TAUGHT IN PREVIOUS YEARS AND FOCUSES ON THE PROCESSES OF CONSCIOUS SELECTION AND PURPOSEFUL SHAPING OF MATERIAL. LESSONS PROVIDED ARE--(1) SEARCHING FOR A WORKABLE AND MEANINGFUL…

THE FIRST OF THESE TWO 12TH-GRADE LITERATURE UNITS, "SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING OLD," IS DESIGNED TO HELP STUDENTS TO RECOGNIZE EXPRESSIONS OF COMMON EXPERIENCE PRESENT IN LITERARY WORKS REGARDLESS OF WHEN THEY WERE WRITTEN. WORKS SELECTED FOR THIS UNIT ARE GROUPED UNDER FOUR TOPICS--"YOUTH AND AGE,""THE NATIVITY, CHRISTIAN…

THIS LANGUAGE UNIT ON USAGE FOR 12TH-GRADE STUDENTS IS DIVIDED INTO SIX SECTIONS--"INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDENTS,""USAGE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH CLASS,""VARIATIONS WITHIN STANDARD AMERICAN ENGLISH,""BASES FOR JUDGMENTS ABOUT USAGE," AND "CHARACTERISTICS OF A MATURE ATTITUDE TOWARD USAGE." FOUR…

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate associations between four categories of maltreatment and substance use among adolescents. Method: All 10th through 12th graders (n=2,187) at six public high schools in a rural Oregon county filled out an anonymous survey that included questions about their experience of emotional, sexual, and…

THIS OVERVIEW OF THE OREGON CURRICULUM STUDY CENTER'S ENGLISH PROGRAM FOR GRADE 12 DEVOTES SEPARATE SECTIONS TO LITERATURE, LANGUAGE, AND RHETORIC. EACH SECTION CONTAINS A REVIEW OF THE EMPHASES, AIMS, AND MATERIAL COVERED IN GRADES 7-11 AND AN INTRODUCTION TO THE GRADE 12 CURRICULUM. THE LITERATURE AND RHETORIC SECTIONS DESCRIBE THE AREAS OF…