The gaps in education in America continue to march on at staggering rates. Gaps in academic achievement, college acceptance, standardized test scores, and access to resources continue to marginalize Black students in the United States compared to their white counterparts. Pittsburgh, PA, with the second-largest school district in Pennsylvania and…

The purpose of this participatory action research (PAR) study was to use the experiences of African American male students in an alternative learning school setting to strengthen the learning environment and support for these students. The overarching research question was: How do the insights and experiences of students in an alternative learning…

The Impact of Teaching for Artistic Behavior in a Post-Pandemic Urban Art Classroom explores the effects of a choice-based art curriculum on students in an urban K-8 setting, with a focus on the post-pandemic context. The study examines the behavioral and academic outcomes of students in an underserved community and investigates how a TAB approach…

Current literature has identified a growing achievement gap experienced by students raised in poverty. However, some students from poverty can defeat the odds and succeed academically with advanced degrees. Nine graduate students self-identified as being raised in poverty participated in this study. The home-related experiences that led to their…

The academic achievement gap, particularly for at-risk students in urban school districts, needs to be addressed and met head on with a plan. That plan is identified as a school-based mentoring program. The purpose of this research study is to examine the impact and effect a school based mentoring curriculum has on at-risk students in an urban…

The period of early adolescence is characterized by dramatic changes, simultaneously affecting physiological, psychological, social, and cognitive development. The physical transition from elementary to middle school can exacerbate the stress and adversity experienced during this critical life stage. Middle school students often struggle to find…

How much students feel at home in school predicts academic outcomes. In view of the gender achievement gap, it is worth examining the gendered pattern of this school belonging. Studies on school belonging, however, have barely acknowledged possible obstructive effects of traditional gender role attitudes of individual students and student…

This study examined whether or not fourth-graders could fully demonstrate their writing skills on the computer and factors associated with their performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) computer-based writing assessment. The results suggest that high-performing fourth-graders (those who scored in the upper 20 percent…

This mixed-method, longitudinal study investigated the benefits of project-based learning (PBL) on secondary-mathematics students' academic skill development and motivated strategies for learning (i.e., cognitive, social, and motivational). The focus of this study was academic skill development (algebra- and geometry-assessment scores) and other…

This article describes two research studies conducted on the linguistic modification of test items from K-12 content assessments. In the first study, 120 linguistically modified test items in mathematics and science taken by fourth and sixth graders were found to have a wide range of outcomes for English language learners (ELLs) and non-ELLs, with…

Two-year college teachers face great difficulty when they teach the principle of operation of the bipolar junction transistor--a subject which forms the basis for electronics studies. The difficulty arises from both the complexity of the device and by the lack of adequate scientific background among the students. We, therefore, developed a unique…

Research shows low-income students suffer disproportionate learning loss over the summer and because those losses accumulate over time, they contribute substantially to the achievement gap between low- and higher-income children. The Wallace Foundation is funding a five-year demonstration project to examine whether summer learning programs can…

In 2009, the City of New Haven and New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) announced a sweeping K-12 educational reform, New Haven School Change. The district had three primary goals for School Change: (1) close the gap between the performance of NHPS students' and Connecticut students' averages on state tests, (2) cut the high school dropout rate in…

The development of an equally beneficial and efficient teaching and learning system implies the application of multiple educational theories and methods. One method that had become prominent throughout the years is ability tracking. Based on this method, elementary and middle-school students are grouped into levels that are designated to…

This study investigates the effects of integrating literacy instruction with biology coursework on high school student learning. It would investigate the relationship between the growth in reading achievement and biology learning. It will target schools serving especially large populations of African American and Latino students. The project will…