Background: Early sexual reproductive health (SRH) education is linked to a reduction in risky sexual behaviors. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are rising at alarming rates. Risky sexual behaviors, including initiation of sex before age 13, having more than four sexual partners, and lack of use of condoms, increase the chance of infection…

A troubling gap exists between the current state of history assessment and the knowledge and skills deemed essential for students to thrive in the 21st century. We propose a new assessment of historical thinking that represents a promising alignment with extant cognitive research, as well as with the practices that undergird the discipline. In…

Description: Effective with the 2014/15 school year, Mississippi adopted new academic standards and courses aligned to these new standards. The new courses included both a subject-specific mathematics sequence (that is, algebra I, geometry, and algebra II) as well as an integrated mathematics sequence (that is, integrated I, integrated II, and…

The first operational administration of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) took place during the 2014-2015 school year. In addition to the traditional paper-and-pencil format, the assessments were available for administration on a variety of electronic devices, including desktop computers, laptop computers,…

Spatial abilities are fundamental to human functioning in the physical world. Spatial reasoning allows people to use concepts of shape, features, and relationships in both concrete and abstract ways, to make and use things in the world, to navigate, and to communicate. Surgeons, pilots, architects, engineers, mechanics, builders, farmers, trades…

Four operational null hypotheses were assessed in a study of ninth graders placed in junior high schools (grades 7 through 9) or senior high schools (grades 9 through 12). The hypotheses state that there would be no significant differences in: (1) the mean number of extracurricular activities (EAs) in which ninth graders participated, whether in…