This report summarizes AISD 2008-2009 program evaluation results for a state grant to improve students' grades in science courses, to increase students' chances of graduating, and to increase 10th and 11th-grade students' scores on the state science test.

This report presents the number of high school graduates, the Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate (AFGR), and dropout data for grades 9 through 12 for public schools in school year 2006-07. The counts of graduates, dropouts, and enrollments by grade (which serve as the denominators for the graduation and dropout rates) are from the National Center…

The desire to improve educational delivery and outcomes has prompted significant advancements in culture-based education as a foundation for community-driven, place-based, relevant educational approaches that more effectively engage children and their families in lifelong learning and leadership. This article shares the early process and tools of…

This report by the Center on Education Policy (CEP) looks at how local educators perceive and act on state policies designed to help at-risk students and English language learners (ELLs) achieve the levels of proficiency needed to pass state high school exit examinations and graduate. Our findings are based on data from school observations and…

This paper describes a small-scale research project undertaken in July 2007, which focused on a group of students with a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) currently attending a mainstream secondary school. Three focus groups were held with students in Years 9 and 11 and with their parents in order to explore current practice on…

Students with disabilities and special needs have faced challenges in accessing educational content, and in taking traditional pen-and-paper tests. How might technology improve the process, while making statewide tests truly accessible to all students? NimbleTools is the first computer-based test delivery system that incorporates principles of…

In July 2006, Senate Bill 130 was passed by the Kentucky legislature. The bill amended KRS 158.6453 to include the provision that "no later than the 2007-2008 school year, and each year thereafter" the Commonwealth's assessment program shall include a high school readiness examination in grade 8, a college readiness examination in grade…

Youth violence in the city of Philadelphia, PA, has reached epidemic proportions. The majority of homicides related to gun violence is most prevalent among African American males aged 19 to 24 years. Therefore, it is essential to implement youth violence prevention programs to a target population several years younger than this age group to…

One possible approach students can cope with abstract algebra concepts is reducing abstraction. This notion occurs when learners are unable to adopt mental strategies as they deal with abstraction level of a given task. To make these concepts mentally accessible for themselves, learners unconsciously reduce the level of the abstraction of the…

This article describes the development and two studies on the construct validity of the Academic Emotions Scale (AES). The AES is a French self-report questionnaire assessing six emotions in the context of school learning: enjoyment, hope, pride, anxiety, shame and frustration. Its construct validity was studied through exploratory and…

In the nearly two years that the author spent on community-college campuses in California, New York, Illinois, and Colorado, he met hundreds of dedicated but often frustrated teachers and administrators. In this article, the author describes what he experienced in the community colleges, identifies the shortcomings of community colleges, and…

This article discusses the importance of teachers integrating new educational research into their classroom instruction. The mandatory grade 10 History course in Ontario is used as an example of how such integration leads to improved teacher instruction and therefore student learning.

Teenagers' innate interest with the justice system is one of the reasons that so many high school literary classics teem with criminals, controversial issues, and trials. Novels such as "To Kill a Mockingbird," "A Separate Peace," "The Crucible," and "Twelve Angry Men" feature high-impact trials. In the author's desire to tap into this interest,…

This article reports on a study of 23 tenth-grade students who created fiction in digital game and written formats. The researchers observed them at work, analysed their stories in both formats, and interviewed selected students to learn what affordances and constraints they demonstrate and/or articulate in such authoring. The students used…

In spring 2007, four Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) Science and Technology/Engineering (STE) operational tests were introduced at the high school level (grades 9 and 10): Biology, Chemistry, Introductory Physics, and Technology/Engineering. Over 100,000 Massachusetts public high school students in grades 9 and 10 participated…