Using data on student outcomes and school choice lotteries from a low-income urban school district, we examine how school choice can affect student outcomes through increased motivation and personal effort as well as through improved school and peer inputs. First we use unique daily data on individual-level student absences and suspensions to show…

A few weeks into the marking period, the author's eighth-grade students took an all-essay literature test. While grading the tests, she noticed that students made many grammatical errors. It seemed clear that a new approach to grammar instruction was necessary. Staring at this stack of essay tests draws the author in to the concept of…

Few would quarrel with the goal of increasing parents' and families' engagement in education in the name of school improvement. But there is far less consensus on what that engagement should look like--and on how educators and policymakers should be promoting it. Those questions are evident in the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, which…

Youth with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) frequently experience academic impairment, including lower grades than their peers and elevated risk for grade retention and school dropout. Medication is the most commonly used treatment for youth with ADHD, and it is therefore essential to understand the extent to which medication use…

Pasifika learners, along with Maori, continue to experience high disparities in New Zealand's education system. Furthermore, it is predicted that over the next few decades, the majority of students in New Zealand primary schools will be Maori and Pasifika. The implications for classroom teachers are enormous. In reviewing a range of literature,…

The intersection of No Child Left Behind (2002) and the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004) made it necessary for educators to examine achievement trends within their schools and implement a Response to Intervention (RTI) program. This study examines the achievement trends in one school district since its…

The number of undergraduate students who are academically at risk is steadily increasing, substantiating the need for some type of early intervention upon entering college. Academic support programs have great potential for closing the gap between at-risk status and graduation completion. It is necessary to understand the specific success…

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) welcomes the efforts of federal, state, and local policymakers to find new ways to ensure an accomplished teacher for every student in America. The National Board has advanced this mission since its inception in 1987. Today, that mission is carried out by the tens of thousands of…

It is well documented that the demands on school superintendents have not only become more taxing but have also changed in recent years. The superintendent needs to possess a high degree of knowledge and skills in a diverse number of areas, including psychology, finances, personnel, and general education while functioning at a very high level in…

The purpose of this case study was to discover the critical attributes of a student achievement program, known as "Think Gold," implemented at one urban comprehensive high school as part of the improvement process. Student achievement on state assessments improved during the period under study. The study draws upon perspectives on…

Afterschool programs have been operating for decades in communities across the country, and federal investment in afterschool has increased dramatically since the mid-1990s. However, even more investment in the field of afterschool, which includes before-school, afterschool and summer learning programs, is needed to keep up with the growing…

This study examines the impact of iPad integration on teaching and learning activities in a large school district in Midwest United States. Forty social studies classrooms received iPad carts to engage students in learning. Teachers received professional development opportunities in the forms of workshops, conferences, one-to-one coaching, and…

Lecturing is a common instructional format but poor lecturing skills can detract from students' learning experiences and outcomes. As lecturing is essentially a form of public communication, training in public speaking may improve lecture quality. Twelve university lecturers in Malaysia participated in a six-week public speaking skills training…

This research aims at examining the Students' perceptions of the effectiveness of the English program implemented in the College of Technological Studies in Kuwait. A sample of 242 students was randomly selected from the population. The students were asked to respond to a 21-statement questionnaire designed to obtain information about how they…

This study focuses on district leadership designed to improve student achievement. We employed a formative experiment design methodology, a type of design study, to investigate the leadership efforts to improve student and teacher learning. The findings suggest that leadership through professional development and an instructional framework led to…