A study of the reading achievement of sixth-grade students in the Tampa Bay area of Florida shows average and above average students doing better on 1978 standardized reading tests than on tests from the 1950s, while below average students do better on the earlier tests. (PGD)

A limited test of the Annehurst Curriculum Classification System's techniques for matching instructional materials to learner characteristics failed to reveal significant differences between the achievement of students matched to materials and those unmatched. (PGD)

Describes the Cultural Crossroads Educational Center, a hands-on museum designed to build understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity among intermediate-grade students in the Dallas (Texas) schools. (Author/IRT)

Examines the Schooldisc program developed jointly by the American Broadcasting Company and the National Education Association and compares Schooldiscs with "ThinkAbout," an instructional television series produced by the Agency for Instructional Television. (IRT)

It would be hard to squeeze over 1,750 books on middle-level school reform onto a five-foot bookcase! With 22 experts' assistance, a manageable, three-part annotated bibliography of 80 books, reports, and journal articles covering core research areas, state reports, and critical reading was assembled. Samuel Totten's own bibliography (in section…

Once a month, fifth-grade students in an Indianapolis, Indiana, classroom can use tickets earned through good behavior and academic achievement to purchase donated items and baked goods. Students are in charge of organizing the activity, keeping track of student "earnings," and managing a student "bank." (PGD)

At an urban, predominantly African American middle school, the authors addressed parents' concerns (adolescent development, self-esteem, family communication, behavior management, peer pressure, sexuality, and substance abuse) through a series of six Saturday workshops. Parents were randomly assigned to one of three models: directive,…

Two middle-school students unsuccessfully challenged a Phoenix school's mandatory school uniform policy. The attorney representing the district interpreted the appellate court's decision as providing assurance for public schools that such policies are constitutional, provided they are content-neutral, not aimed at suppressing any particular…

Since 1987, Indiana Middle Grades Reading Network, funded by Lily Endowment, initiated a variety of projects designed to promote young adolescents' reading. A Reading Bill of Rights was developed to create communities of readers. Some valuable lessons emerged: attention must be given to teens' reading needs; schools must be central; students need…

Examines school/family partnerships in the middle grades. Focuses on comprehensive district-wide programs, school restructuring, and adult/child learning programs studied at nine sites. Summarizes lessons concerned with high-stakes consequences, parental involvement opportunities, decision-making responsibility, leadership advocacy, support for…

Examines the Home Tutorial Program in the San Fernando Valley of California in the areas of organization, parent attitudes, learning environment, achievement, and socialization. Compare the home program with the Los Angeles Unified School District. (IRT)

Introduces articles in the special "Kappan" section drawing primarily on data from an ongoing longitudinal study (the Illinois Middle Grades Network), Indiana's middle Grades Improvement Program, the national Middle Grade School State Policy Initiative, and Michigan's Middle Start Initiative. Each project used Robert Felner's Middle…

Interviews with over 100 middle-school youngsters reveals these adolescents' rich, multidimensional understanding of caring. However, classroom observations showed that most teacher/student interactions were neutral. Students defined caring teacher behaviors as helping with schoolwork, valuing individuality, showing respect, being tolerant,…

Allowing a fifth grader who caused problems in regular classrooms to exert control over some learning activities led to the student's involvement in the activities, his commitment to their completion, and the development of a situation that made learning to read desirable and acceptable to him. (PGD)

Compares pedagogical practices in an eighth-grade middle school classroom with those a of one-room Amish school studied in an earlier work. Taken together, the two settings suggest that one must seek "the present status and performance of the U.S. education system" not in the usual indicators, but in the contradictory beliefs and…