We conducted an inductive analysis of 166 interviews from a longitudinal study of 26 Chicago Public School principals. Test-based accountability pressures played a visible role in principals' views of and relations with parents. Some principals reported banning parents from classrooms based on the need to protect instructional time to raise test…

Holy Angels, a high achieving, African American, urban, elementary school in Chicago, Illinois offers a model for successful education of ethnic minority children. Despite coming from predominantly welfare supported, single-mother homes, located in crime ridden inner-city Chicago, during the period bounded by this study, 1969 to 1979, Holy Angels'…

Students from urban high schools are usually faced with adverse environmental factors in their pursuit of academic success. These factors make learning more challenging and may confound the measurement of academic performance itself. This study explores how one such factor, ambient noise, affects the measurement of mathematics achievement.…

A safe environment is a prerequisite for productive learning. Using a unique panel data set of survey responses from New York City middle school students, the article provides insight into the relationship between feelings of safety in the classroom and academic achievement. The survey data include the reported feelings of safety for more than…

The intense focus on standardized tests has created a culture of anxiety in many inner-city schools. This article presents the findings of a case study of a test anxiety program that helped inner-city students and staffs deal more productively with anxiety through play, performance, and team building. According to the findings, the program created…

This study examined how gender; race/ethnicity; language; socioeconomic status; California Standards Test (CST) scores in mathematics, science, and ELA; and California High School Exit Exam mathematics predict college-ready results on the Early Assessment Program (EAP) in mathematics in urban areas of southern California. Approximately 1,700 high…

The predictive value of selection criteria on outcome data from two cohorts of students (Total N = 525) accepted to an urban magnet high school were evaluated. Regression analyses of typical screening variables (suspensions, absences, metropolitan achievement tests, middle school grade point averages [GPAs], Matrix Analogies test scores, and…

The last two decades have seen dramatic change in U.S. schooling as a response to high-stakes accountability and market-based reform movements. Critics cite a number of unfortunate consequences of these movements, especially for students in urban schools. This article explores the troubling ironies related to one strategy for survival in this…

This investigation sought to determine if there was a difference in the development of effective urban teacher characteristics after completing a traditional internship experience or a Professional Development School internship experience. The Urban Teacher Selection Interview was used to assess 10 characteristics including persistence, value of…

Analyzes the standardized test scores of students in the Chicago Public Schools during the 1988-89 school year to determine the relationship between income level and test results. Concludes that student income level, irrespective of racial/ethnic distribution, is the critical factor to be addressed in student assignment policies. (FMW)

Examined standardized test scores of black and white elementary and middle school students in impoverished, socioeconomically mixed, and affluent schools. The proportion of students performing at or above the U.S. norm was higher in affluent schools for both racial groups. The 36 percentage points separating black and white students overall in…

Although researchers report that motivational variables, such as interest and self-efficacy, positively relate to forms of achievement (e.g., standardized test scores, grades, number of problems solved correctly), other studies indicate that motivation's contribution to achievement is not consistent. Fewer studies, however, have examined these…

Integrates findings from three independent studies (one national quantitative and two urban qualitative) to analyze two aspects of the teacher/student relationship: (1) how teachers and students view their mutual relationship; and (2) how this relationship affects academic achievement. All three studies highlight the importance teachers place on…

Examines educational services delivery to the entire school and to those who scored below the median on achievement tests in 242 Louisiana elementary schools. Results indicate that mean masking occurs in about 17 percent of schools, most frequently when schools do an above-average job of educating the lowest quartile. (SLD)