More and more schools are acquiring advanced manufacturing equipment. Activities that incorporate the use of this equipment for the purpose of teaching some academic content can either be designed or redesigned for other educational purposes as well. This article describes how the authors extended an activity that was initially designed to help…

Building sets, video games, and scatterplots may seem unrelated, but when they are combined into a problem-based learning (PBL) lesson, these elements join to create a unique learning experience. PBL lessons drive instruction by focusing learning and activities around a central challenge or question while providing a relevant, captivating, and…

In this article the authors describe an Integrative Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Design-Based Learning (I-STEM ED DBL) activity that invites students to delve into the science, technology, and engineering related to the production of Ötzi's copper axe and to speculate about the circumstances surrounding his…

Education leaders in Virginia use early access to Algebra I as one method to increase students' likelihood of graduating from high school prepared for college and careers. This study used administrative data to calculate descriptive statistics on Algebra I outcomes and attainment of college preparatory diplomas among students by their grade 5 math…

The purpose of this report is to demonstrate the power of connecting Children's Savings Account (CSAs) to college access-success programs and show that, when done together, they produce greater outcomes. First, we briefly describe these closely related fields and explain the merit of partnerships between CSA initiatives and college access and…

By coincidence or not, Massachusetts, Illinois and Virginia created civic education task forces not long after national test results showed a dismal understanding of the subject matter across all grade levels. Results of the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress showed just 25 percent of all testtakers in grades 4, 8 and 12 demonstrated…

This paper tabulates the correlation of Virginia's mathematics performance expectations with Virginia's 2009 mathematics standards of learning.

It is no accident that the staff at Fieldale-Collinsville Middle School adopted a central tenet of "Breaking Ranks in the Middle"--to banish anonymity by creating a personalized learning environment for all of its students. The school was created six years ago when the four middle schools in Henry County, VA, were consolidated into two…

Nearly 7,000 students drop out of the nation's public high schools each school day, and 3,000 of them are in the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states. Altogether, an estimated 1.3 million teenagers in the United States abandon high school each year without earning a diploma. In 1,700 of the nation's high schools, less than 60 percent of…

In this problem-based learning activity (PBL), students embark on a science trek to answer the question "Where is the science in my neighborhood?" The project serves as an excellent review of science curriculum in anticipation of Virginia's year-end standardized test--the Standards of Learning (SOL). This has proved to be an interesting…

SREB states were among the first in the nation to set comprehensive state academic standards for K-12 schools. Setting these initial standards was only part of the job. Getting these standards right and keeping them right may be the most important task facing public education today. If state standards are too low, many public school graduates will…

To counter gender bias effects and improve student learning, staff at a Virginia middle school decided to group eighth-grade students by gender for math and science instruction. Girls felt freer to speak out. Grade point averages in gender-based science and math classes for both girls and boys were higher than in coeducational classes. (MLH)

In this article, the author presents Sharon I. Byrdsong, the 2006 MetLife/NASSP National Middle Level Principal of the Year, who believes that all students can achieve and makes it happen with programs and policies that support students and teachers. When Sharon I. Byrdsong took over as the principal of Azalea Gardens Middle School in Norfolk,…

This paper presents the appendices to the "High-Stakes Testing and Student Achievement: Problems for the No Child Left Behind Act" report. It contains the following appendices: (1) Example of Context for Assessing State-Level Stakes Sheet--Connecticut; (2) Example of Completed Rewards and Sanctions Worksheet--Connecticut; (3) Directions…