In addition to acquiring an appropriate undergraduate degree and passing a subject area ExCET exam, preservice teachers in Texas are required to pass the Professional Development Examination for the Certification of Educators in Texas (ExCET PD) to become certified teachers. This study was designed to examine the effects of a 5-week WebCT online…

Spurred by federal and state mandates for improved performance, school districts across the country have become adept at establishing districtwide goals to raise student achievement. They have identified learning gaps among various student populations and now seek to close them. They have targeted improved performance in reading or math by grade…

The history of Texas' implementation of bilingual education is examined through a review of relevant literature and court litigation, and a survey of school district superintendents and administrators on this topic is reported. In interviews with the administrators, it was found that bilingual education and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL)…

Since the early 1990s, the majority of school-aged children in Texas have been non-White. The 1995 Texas legislature authorized the use of cumulative voting in school districts as a result of lawsuits prompted by the underrepresentation of minority groups on school boards. In cumulative voting, each voter has a number of votes equal to the number…

Volume 2, the second of eight publications developed by the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA) as part of the "Texas School Dropout Survey Project," focuses on the issue of the computation of a dropout rate. Three important factors which influence the mathematical computation of a dropout rate are identified: time…

Volume 4, the fourth of eight publications developed by the Intercultural Development Research Association as part of the "Texas School Dropout Survey Project," focuses on school district research and procedures. It describes a survey of 143 districts with dropout identification procedures conducted to examine those procedures. Findings…

One educational innovation that is having a widespread and disproportionate impact on the gap in academic achievement between African-American and Latino children and their White peers is Success for All (SFA), a comprehensive reform model for elementary schools piloted in Baltimore in 1987. SFA, a whole-school reform model that focuses primarily…

This emergent theory describes the relationships and factors within the context of home, school, and community that enabled six Hispanic students to participate in an advanced diploma program. The research is in keeping with the mandates from several federal initiatives to develop "asset-based" paradigms for educating Hispanic youth.…

Latina students face many challenges that can lead to school dropout. Although school counselors have the skills and training to provide counseling and guidance to students at-risk for dropping out of school, they are often placed in positions where their role is primarily administrative. This paper describes an online support group developed by…

Using its Academic Excellence Indicator System, Texas has labeled some schools as low performers, giving them a "Priority One" rating for improvement. Principals of low-performing campuses were interviewed to assess the condition of these campuses as communities of learners working to remove the Priority One label. All of the 6 subject…

Volume 6, the sixth of eight publications developed by the Intercultural Development Research Association as part of the "Texas School Dropout Survey Project," focuses on program responses to the dropout problem. It describes a survey conducted to identify and evaluate in-school and out-of-school programs designed to address the dropout…

Hispanic students have higher dropout rates and lower academic achievement than Anglo students. While schools have begun to address the issue of underachievement, some community groups have implemented enrichment programs that focus on the affective domain--self-esteem, family values, and cultural pride. This digest describes and synthesizes the…

The Attendance +Plus program was initiated by the Fabens Independent School District to address the problem of high student dropout rates in west Texas schools. Aspects of the successful plan include cultivation of caring attitudes; emphasis on individual importance; rejection of myths about minority students and dropouts; and encouragement of…

This publication of the Programa de Educacion Interamericana builds upon the overall cultural base on Latin America presented for the teacher in SO 001 424 by providing additional information for understanding past and present events. It also presents, in general view, the development of music, literature, and art. A third dimension is introduced,…

This document contains the 10 issues of the IDRA Newsletter published in 2002. The newsletter disseminates research findings, descriptions of successful programs and reforms, and other information related to equality of educational opportunity, focusing on Hispanic students, bilingual education, and Texas. Articles are: "Successful Bilingual…