Automatic assessment of the quality of classroom discourse can have a transformative effect on research and practice on improving teaching effectiveness. We improve on a previous automated method to measure teacher authentic questions -- open-ended questions without pre-scripted responses that predict student achievement growth -- using classroom…

This study examines teachers' initial conceptions of an integrated STEM-PBL approach and their perceptions of what facilitates or hinders implementation in their schools. This study took place within the first year of a three-year STEM Professional Development (PD) program for middle school math, science and English language arts teachers. The two…

The purpose of this report is to summarize the activities of the standard-setting meeting for the New York State Alternate Assessment (NYSAA) in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics (Grades 3-8 and High School), science (Grades 4, 8, and High School), and social studies (High School). The NYSAA standard-setting meeting was held on June 11…

Using the pocket classics can be a painless way to introduce the classics to eighth-grade students. Condensed versions of the classics can take the sting out of the reading, stimulate students' interest, and help prepare them for high school. To offer students in one eighth-grade class some control over their own learning, a contract system was…

This paper is particularly concerned with the authorial text with its single, usually male, frequently European, inspired and objective voice. Enabled by a discourse of clarity, a reader of this text may identify with a single author's mind. While much has been done to displace this construct in schools over the last few decades, the paper…

This paper discusses the objectives for the writing programs for Department of Defense Office of Dependents Schools (DoDDS). Assessment results for 1978-79 writing samples of eighth and eleventh grade students are also presented, along with a summary of students' responses to questions about their writing habits. Test results reported in the paper…

This is a report of a project investigating students' perceptions of the extent to which their own efforts influence their achievement at mathematics and their life opportunities. We conducted two hour interviews with over 50 students, as well as collecting other data. Even students who were confident, successful and persistent exhibited short…