In schools and classrooms across the country, educators are working to raise the achievement of all students to ever-higher levels. Yet, often missing in discussions about how to raise academic performance is the "way" in which individual students go about learning. One aspect of a student's approach to learning is his or her use of learning…

The recently released results of the 2009 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) comparison of educational achievement across 65 countries has brought renewed attention to the achievement gap and recommended changes to improve U.S. performance. The U.S. was well down in the middle of the pack for reading, math, and science while…

Located in Lancaster, South Carolina, Clinton Elementary School enrolls approximately 400 students in pre-kindergarten through grade 5. Ninety-five percent of students are minority and 5 percent are white. Currently, 99 percent of students receive free or reduced-price lunch. In addition to the school having a high poverty rate, one-fourth of the…

"What Matters Most: Teaching for America's Future" by the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future tells that teacher quality is the single most important factor in determining student achievement, so principals are wise to put their efforts into improving teaching in their schools. However, principals do not need to take on…

A Michigan elementary school has developed an unusual six-tier grading structure to accommodate the needs of children at different stages of development. They provide half-step classrooms that allow students to move forward in school at a rate that allows success. (MD)

Summarizes findings of report "Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development," released in 2002 by the Arts Foundation Partnership. Report describes certain important relationships between the arts and academic and social skills. Describes what principals can do to link the arts with other subjects. (PKP)

Describes a program at Pennington Elementary School in Nashville, Tennessee, in which children are rewarded with "Weepuls" for good academic scores. (MD)

Student achievement gaps among racial and ethnic groups are large and persistent. They mirror gaps in life and school conditions that have been found to be closely related to cognitive development and school achievement. The road to parity begins with understanding the nature of the gaps and their trends. One way the size of the gap has been…

Although autism varies from one child to another, there are several common key factors to creating a successful inclusion program. In this article, the author discusses the factors in inclusion program that works for all. These factors include: (1) Appropriate Placement; (2) Teacher and Paraprofessional Selection; (3) Parental Involvement; (4)…

Nine years ago the Caloosa Elementary School in Caloosa, Florida, ranked below the national average. In 1987 the school was cited as one of 210 oustanding elementary schools in the country. The school was changed by a new administrative team that developed discipline, student achievement, and program enrichment. (MD)

Parents as Educational Partners (PEP) is an intervention program providing direct services to students through a parent/school instructional partnership. Grandview, Missouri's PEP aims to have all third grader participants functioning on grade level in reading and math. PEP is successful in three areas: attitude, attendance, and achievement.…

Describes a program developed at Franklin Park Elementary School (Florida) that altered the school environment and introduced characteristics that are known to improve learning. The school had ranked near the bottom of the district's schools in student achievement, but at the end of the first year of the program, student achievement scores rose…

Long term studies of students who participated in preschool education programs show that the differences and effects are not in test scores but in children's ability to meet teachers' expectations and to avoid being labeled failures.(MD)

Traditionally, our educational system ignores children until about age five, despite overwhelming research evidence about the importance of the first few years of life. Most early childhood researchers would agree that the Head Start program for preschoolers (except for the Perry Preschool Project) has not succeeded. Missouri's New Parents as…

Reviews early preschool intervention program evaluations showing that by second grade there are no educationally meaningful differences in academic achievement between participating and nonparticipating children (though there are behavioral differences). More research is needed on children aged eight to ten to facilitate continuous achievement…