Focuses on the impact of weak labor force attachment on grade retention by the ninth grade among urban black children. Suggests that higher risks of grade retention are associated with welfare dependency only when income is obtained from welfare alone and receipt of welfare is persistent. (MJP)

Describes a project that enrolled 36 secondary mathematics and science teachers to work cooperatively to plan a program to help integrate mathematics and science concepts. Thirteen ninth grade study units having a laboratory or demonstration component were developed, field tested, and evaluated. Teachers noted differences in using mathematics.…

The study examined the role of body dissatisfaction, body image importance, sociocultural influences (media and parent and peer encouragement), self-esteem and negative affect on body change strategies to decrease weight and increase muscles in adolescent boys and girls. Surveys were administered to 587 boys and 598 girls aged between 11 and 15…

This study examined the relationship between high-stakes testing pressure and student achievement across 25 states. Standardized portfolios were created for each study state. Each portfolio contained a range of documents that told the "story" of accountability implementation and impact in that state. Using the "law of comparative…

Survey data were analyzed from 14- and 17-year-old Israeli students--1,990 ninth graders and 2,000 twelfth graders, respectively--involved in the Second International Science Study. The effects of ethnic origin (Afro-Asian versus European/American) and gender on high school student achievement, interest/motivation, attitudes, and self-concept…

Health promotion and community building strategies are increasingly using the arts as a basis for engaging young people. Through involvement in arts activity, participants have been shown to develop supportive social networks and report increased feelings of well-being (Jermyn, 2001). In particular, drama strategies and programs have been used as…

In this paper, we suggest that case-based resources, which are used for assisting cognition during problem solving, can be structured around the work of narratives in social cultural psychology. Theories and other research methods have proposed structures within narratives and stories which may be useful to the design of case-based resources.…

Explains the advantages to Wellington Junior High School (Colorado) of being a small school (250 students) in a large school district which includes Fort Collins, a city with a population of 80,000 and the home of Colorado State University. (MH)

Discusses a ninth grade, culturally diverse, interdisciplinary social studies class. Students pick a person from the class to study with whom they feel a connection and prepare a presentation about this connection, including a poster. Includes the four major themes of the class and a reading list. (MJP)

Describes a ninth-grade class project where students were asked to recall a specific sense memory involving smell and foods. They wrote a brief narrative reflecting on the experience and created a recipe card for the food. These were combined with a pictorial representation of the food for a final project. (MJP)

Describes an approach to help school districts conduct needs assessment of school health programs, emphasizing injury, violence, smoking, substance use, sexual behavior, nutrition, and physical activity. Researchers surveyed students and district personnel, observed physical education classes, interviewed faculty, and analyzed school lunch menus.…

Describes a study which measured how ninth-grade students integrated information about mathematical concepts when working with Triple Representation Model software. Tables, graphs, and algebraic functions were linked, allowing students to manipulate several representations of the same concept. Examples of mathematical problems and student case…

Evaluated the effectiveness of the first year of "Safer Choices," a two-year, multicomponent HIV, STD, and pregnancy-prevention program for high school students based on social theory. Student self-report surveys indicated that "Safer Choices" succeeded in reducing selected risk behaviors and in enhancing selected protective…

Introduction: The following study examines gender differences existing in various cognitive-motivational variables (causal attributions, academic goals, academic self-concept and use of significant learning strategies) and in performance attained in school subjects of Language Arts and Mathematics. Method: For this purpose, a sample of 521…

The e-rater® system has been used by ETS for automated essay scoring since 1999. This paper describes a new version of e-rater (v.2.0) that differs from the previous one (v.1.3) with regard to the feature set and model building approach. The paper describes the new version, compares the new and previous versions in terms of performance, and…