This paper reports on a project aimed at improving academic achievement at a predominantly Latino elementary school in the metropolitan Los Angeles area. Project activities were guided by a school change model that helped provide a coherent, sustained focus over a period of several years. The model suggests four elements that can be used to…

This monograph describes Supplemental Instruction, a student assistance progam designed to improve the academic success of college freshmen based on the idea that if students are not being successful in courses then perhaps colleges should change the way courses are taught. Supplemental Instruction (SI) utilizes regularly scheduled, out-of-class,…

The story of the Dropout Prevention Initiative (DPI) of the New York City Schools illuminates the obstacles, incentives, and inventions that can come into play in a large city school system's effort to strengthen its effectiveness for at-risk students. The Board of Education commissioned an external evaluation of the DPI in 13 comprehensive high…

The New York City Board of Education formed the Latino Commission on Educational Reform to examine issues of concern to Latino children who comprise an increasing segment of the students in the public school system. An interim report was submitted on the dropout rate, curriculum and instruction, support services, parent and community empowerment,…

This report presents information about enrollment trends, student achievement, graduation rates, the teaching force, and school finances for elementary and secondary schools and higher education in New York State for the 1986-87 school year. Most of the data for elementary and secondary schools were drawn from the Basic Educational Data System…

This report describes an evaluation study of the Houston Annenberg Challenge, which was a school reform initiative designed to improve the quality of Houston's diverse urban schools by promoting an academically rich and purposeful education for all students. The study examined academic achievement, comparing Annenberg schools with other schools in…

This document presents the course syllabus for Education 590 Culminating Experience at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's teacher licensure program. It also includes action research projects from spring 2003: "'To Track or Untrack...That Is the Question'" (Sarah Armes); "Providing Urban Students with the Motivation to…

On June 9, 2003, the Task Force on the Education of Maryland's African-American Males was convened by the Maryland K-16 Leadership Council (chaired by the University System of Maryland Chancellor William E. Kirwan, former Maryland Acting Secretary of Higher Education John A. Sabatini, Jr., and Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S.…

A collaborative project of Bank Street College and the Newark Public Schools, the New Beginnings initiative was designed to bring about progressive restructuring of kindergarten classrooms. This study used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the impact of the initiative on curriculum, professional development, and…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not the implementation of a mandatory uniform policy in urban public high schools improved school performance measures at the building level for rates of attendance, graduation, academic proficiency, and student conduct as measured by rates of suspensions and expulsions. Sixty-four secondary…

These three volumes contain articles related to (1) improving educational productivity (lessons from economics); (2) school-to-work (STW); and (3) reduced class size, offering recommendations from national invitational conferences. Topics include making schools work; tax revolts and school performance; market pressure and the impact on…

This report presents results from four 1999 Urban Systemic Initiative (USI) school district surveys. The Survey of Enacted Curriculum is the study component of a grant from the National Science Foundation to examine how reform works in USI districts. The study explores the impact of USI programs on student achievement and the learning…

This report presents results from eight Urban Systemic Initiative (USI) school district surveys conducted during 1999 and 2000. The Survey of Enacted Curriculum is the study component of a National Science Foundation grant on how reform works in USI districts. The study explores the impact of USI programs on student achievement and the learning…

This study examines the relationships between student literacy performance and discussion-based approaches to the development of understanding in 64 middle and high school English classrooms. A series of hierarchical linear models indicated that discussion-based approaches were significantly related to spring performance, controlling for fall…

Sampling techniques used in "A Study of the Sustaining Effects of Compensatory Education" are described in detail. The Sustaining Effects Study is a large, multi-faceted study of issues related to the compensatory education of elementary school students. Public elementary schools that include grades between one and six are eligible for…