This commentary explores pedagogical, societal, and political aspects of the college/career readiness reform movement as it impacts students in secondary classrooms. The authors begin with a snapshot of the students often left in the shadows of educational reform efforts, leaving them academically underprepared and destined for college…

In this essay, Michael Satterfield recounts his experiences as a student in and outside of prison. His narrative exposes the challenges faced by one person in pursuit of an education, and recounts his early educational experiences as well as his participation in a college-in-prison program. He also describes his journey to a four-year college and…

Data from ESL students' records in Vancouver are examined in the light of the BC Ministry of Education's claim that ESL high school students are more successful than students whose first language is English. We argue that the academic achievement of well-to-do students whose parents are skilled workers or entrepreneurs may mask the completion…

Many postsecondary students who request academic accommodations for learning disabilities actually show no documentable learning disability but a discrepancy between their intellectual ability and their achievement aspirations (i.e., a "yearning disability") rather than a discrepancy between their ability and achievement (i.e., a…

Targeted to teens at-risk for early motherhood and dropping out of school, as well as to teachers, counselors, and parents, this video encourages teens to delay motherhood by underscoring the link between goal-setting and education. The 24-minute film features seven urban high school students speaking about the importance of education and the…

A multitude of factors affect the attitudes and behaviors that students bring to the learning situation. This document discusses some motivation-related terms and concepts. It then examines several factors that affect students' basic beliefs about and attitudes toward learning. The first section differentiates between the following terms: ability…

Research on grades 9-12 in an elite, coeducational private school in an urban area examined the effects of the school's social organization on students' commitment to educational goals and their sense of academic purpose. The author gathered data through 2 years of participant observation as a teacher-researcher and through questionnaire…

This paper examines the role of the conative domain in the acquisition of sustainable school achievement. The focus of the conative domain is to embrace the learner with an all-encompassing determination to achieve. It is set in motion by a clear and self-directed sense of purpose in an environment of challenge and cognitive dissonance. Counselors…

Maintains that teachers and parents must realize that minority children are capable of learning and becoming successful adults and that it is time to stop offering excuses and demand excellence of all students, including minorities. (Author/JM)

It is argued that high academic achievement among Vietnamese refugee and immigrant students is, in some part, the reflection of a survival strategy that has been employed over centuries of Vietnamese confrontations with more powerful peoples. Historical circumstances have reinforced a Vietnamese belief that a causal link exists between the…

Evidence shows that choice of field of concentration at the middle school or junior high level is the single most powerful predictor of how far a student will progress up the educational ladder. National statistics now indicate that out of 10 Hispanic students in the 8th grade, about 5 will receive a high school diploma but only 1 will have…

This speech addresses the relation of effective discipline to the pursuit of academic excellence in schools. The proposed blend of specific strategies, methods, and ways of being conducive to excellence is characterized as "three dimensional discipline." This approach involves: (1) listening to what students are thinking and feeling; (2) clearly…

This paper explicates methods to motivate African American students to exhibit attitudes and behaviors that are conducive to high academic achievement. In particular, it argues that educational models must acknowledge and correct students' sense of academic futility. Academic futility measures student perceptions of the extent to which factors in…

A summary is presented of the literature on motivation relating to achievement in the classroom. Special attention is given to how values, ideology, and various cultural patterns may serve to enhance motivation to achieve in the classroom. In considering what determines motivation and personal investment in educational pursuits, the following…

Factors contributing to declining academic performance of college students are considered, including: increased government intervention in education, declining faculty expectations and lowered standards, administrative policies, and changing student attitudes and expectations. One view is that government is largely responsible for the…