I examine the ways in which reading in the classroom is a social practice and how that social practice can produce nuanced student texts that reflect a rich understanding of what has been read. In doing so, I also consider how the reading environment allows us to manipulate and embody texts in ways that allow for a more detailed understanding than…

Since the 2001 passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), test-based accountability has been an organizing principle--perhaps "the" organizing principle--of efforts to improve American schools. But lately, accountability has been under fire from many critics, including Common Core opponents and those calling for more multifaceted…

The author of this paper describes the responsibilities of the National Assessment Governing Board, of which she served as a member from November 1997 to September 2004. The Board is unlike any other board of which she has been a member. At the quarterly meetings, the Board not only discusses and makes major policy decisions but determines the…

This paper examines the impact of public health insurance expansions through both Medicaid and SCHIP on children's educational outcomes, measured by 4th and 8th grade reading and math test scores, available from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). We use a triple difference estimation strategy, taking advantage of the…

As heated as the controversy is and has been, most opponents of homework actually support at least a modest amount of "independent study," and the most ardent advocates are likely to emphasize moderation in the amount of homework and emphasis on the quality of independent assignments. In this article, the author focuses on this troublesome issue…

A smart marketing plan creates emotional attachment and loyalty in a school's prospective students, but how does a school go about creating this type of positive environment?. In this brief paper, the author describes a step-by-step approach that he created--the enrollment funnel. The enrollment funnel is a systematic method of moving…

In order for students to write like authors they need to read like writers. This requires direct instruction in attending to the writing craft through the use of quality adolescent literature and engagement in reading and writing. This article focuses on writing catchy introductions. The author offers the lesson objective and a teacher script…

The way in which foreign languages, including the Classics, are taught is evolving. There are those who teach language for literature-based, instrumental purposes only, and those who want to see foreign language education cross boundaries into literature, culture, history, and geography. Foreign language educators have the opportunity to teach…

This article discusses the benefits of constructivism for both teachers and students. The author believes that teachers can increase student engagement in expressive performance learning without giving up performance quality.

This article describes an activity that one science teacher uses with her eighth grade class on the first day of school. Wanting to start the year off "right" (whatever that is), this teacher purposely plans to model the thinking behavior she expects from her students and to let them have some fun to settle those first-day jitters. She also wants…

Describes the creation of a theater-based program for eighth-grade students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (Georgia) Schools. Chronicles the efforts of playwright Ed Shockley to write a play focusing on teen violence and aimed at eighth-grade students. Concludes that the program and the play succeeded in accomplishing their goals. Relates three…

With eighth-grader in White House, America is in for four years of voyeuristically observed adolescence. As Chelsea Clinton and millions of other 12 year olds know, junior high is where real psychological action is. Middle school is cruel, self-conscious culture, replete with rumors, complicated dress codes, and popularity-driven status hierarchy.…

Instead of diagnosing students' individual learning styles, a Seattle eighth grade teacher tries to help students become more aware of their own styles and develop strategies for dealing with the diverse demands of school and life in general. Students learn about style through informal debriefing of class activities and through formal instruction…

This study examines the production of religious collective memory at a fundamentalist Christian school. By depicting in rich detail what happened on September 11, 2001, in one eighth-grade classroom and how the events of that day were discussed in the weeks that followed, the article reveals the processes wherein the attacks were subsumed into an…

The Louisiana Department of Education produces two curriculum guides for use in teaching Louisiana Studies at the eighth grade level. Very little information on Louisiana architecture is included. The Division of Historic Preservation proposed and obtained funds for a cooperative project between themselves and the Department of Education that…