An action research project in Canada set up a penpal program between preservice teachers and middle school children. Its purpose was to promote the literacy development of the younger students and to provide the preservice students with an understanding of adolescents. Although the first year was especially successful and rewarding--the highlights…

The Computer Attitude Questionnaire (CAQ) is a Likert-type self-report instrument with paired-comparison items added to provide supplemental information. The CAQ is intended for use in the middle school environment, grades six to eight. A 1993 preliminary validation study indicated the instrument's stable measurement qualities and probable…

Both a "how-to" book and the story of a "year in the life" with a teacher and her at-risk students, this book is a research chronicle that offers proven methods and inspiration for teachers of the most obdurate middle and secondary school students. The book presents case studies, photographs, quotes from educators, surveys,…

Evaluations should be an important component in every model and exchange of the consultation process. Consultation literature includes considerable information on the importance of the inclusion of evaluation at the completion of consultation exchanges, but little emphasis is placed on evaluation and its meaning. Objectives of the study were to:…

There are several reasons why appraisals of school sites are necessary--the reasons run the range from the importance of performing a postoccupancy review to examining the need for new facilities. This guide helps educators and community leaders, as well as technical experts in school facilities, to complete the process of school facility…

This report describes the development and field test of "Make It Happen!," a school-based approach to integrating technology into the middle school curriculum. This activity, conducted between October 1989 and May 1991, constituted Phase II of a 5-year study of technology integration for mildly handicapped students in four middle schools…

Appalachia Educational Laboratory's Rural Excel program collaborated with the Tennessee Center of Excellence for Science and Mathematics Education and with faculty at 21 local education agencies in rural Tennessee to evaluate implementation of the Tennessee Mathematics Activities Manuals for grades 5-8. The manuals each contain 54-67 activities…

The Mathematics Improvement Component (MIC) was first implemented in the Columbus (Ohio) Public Schools in 1987-88 to assist elementary and middle school pupils who were low achievers in mathematics. Three programs comprised the 1989-90 MIC: the Elementary Computer Assisted Instruction (Elem-CAI) Program, the Elementary Competency Based Education…

The purpose of this study was to assess both the needs of students in transition from elementary to middle school and the extent to which those needs were being met. A questionnaire was used to obtain the perceptions of 117 sixth-grade students, 64 parents of sixth-grade students, 37 parents of fifth-grade students, nine sixth-grade teachers, and…

This document contains most of the evaluation instruments and instructions for evaluation used in the 1973-76 field test of Levels I, II, and III of the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) Human Sciences Program, a 3-year, interdisciplinary science program for 11- to 14-year olds. Since the materials were retrieved from teachers guides,…

Guidelines for self evaluation by middle schools and junior high schools and by visiting committees are outlined in this publication. The guide is divided into 12 sections. The first is the manual, which provides recommendations for implementation and follow-up of the evaluation procedure. The remaining parts consist of guiding principles, forms,…

This paper reports on a field research project designed to provide staff members of one particular Texas middle school the knowledge and ability to affect student attendance. The purpose of the field research was to identify effective strategies, led by site-based management teams, to enhance student attendance. Data were collected from a review…

This study examined the nature of and types of school involvement of parents of children with disabilities from rural school districts in Virginia. Parents (N=52) of elementary and middle school children from three different rural school districts completed a questionnaire containing a Likert type scale and open-ended questions. The data were…

This is the third report from the evaluation of the Multicultural Education Program in Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), a major effort to address racial and ethnic diversity in a middle school. Section 1 of the report provides background on the multicultural education movement and the aims of the Pittsburgh program. Section 2 describes the status of the…

As everyone enters the 21st Century there is a great deal of discussion in business and education circles alike about the type of skills the youth will need to survive and thrive in this century. At the same time, there is little known today about the level of 21st Century skills students currently have. In part this is because, as a nation,…